Changing the World isn't Easy
by Aquilon
Summary: Flynn Scifo, Commandant of the Knights, has always dreamed of changing the world. However even with his influence, nothing has changed. When people start disappearing from the Lower Quarter, Flynn starts to realise something is terribly wrong. Post Game.
1. Prologue: To Change the World

Changing the World isn't Easy Chapter One-

This fanfiction is a Flynn Centric fiction and follows the dream of Flynn which is to change the system, but he has realised even with his considerable influence, nothing has changed. When people start to disappear from the Lower Quarter, Flynn gets thrusted into a situation which leaves him facing those who are blocking the way of change. Post-Game

**Prologue: To Change the World**

The leader of the Imperial Knights sat impatiently in his office, within officer HQ in the capital of the world, Zaphias. The young man, only 24 years of age was the youngest Commandant in the history of the Zaphian Empire. He had stopped the ultimate weapon Heracles, wrestled back control of Zaphias from Alexei and then commandeered the fight against the traitorous former Commandant.

At least this is what the world thought. In truth, most of these achievements were achieved by the man's best friend, Yuri Lowell. Despite this Flynn still held the credentials to be named the Commandant, as he was the shining beacon of light that represented true chivalry, dedication and honour, of which the Imperial Knights were meant to stand for.

His impatience was down to multiple factors. Number one he was starving and felt like his stomach was going to start eating itself if it lasted any longer, the second, more importantly was down to the current council meeting, where his recommendations were going to be discussed.

Hopefully if everything went well, the system would become fairer for the poor, and at the same time increase living standards all over Zaphias. Flynn was no politician, but he knew what he was talking about, and he hoped that the council members would notice this too.

However he knew he couldn't become too optimistic, he knew how hard changing things could be, and so he was left with only one option and that was waiting.

As the time ticked by slowly, Flynn felt his stomach growling even louder, but he ignored it, he told himself he'd eat once he heard the news. It wasn't long after that he heard a knock at the door.

"Finally" the young man muttered, as he straightened himself. "Come in" he ordered and in response, a lone female that he knew very well entered the room.

"Sir, I have a letter from his Highness Ioder" the woman addressed in a strong tone making Flynn smile slightly.

"Why so serious, Sodia?" Flynn joked, despite this he was far from calm and desperately wanted to read the letter.

In response to this the woman jumped a little, surprised by Flynn's attitude. In most cases they addressed each other in the way of a superior and a subordinate, so it came as a shock the young woman to hear him speak that way.

"_He must be nervous about the contents" _she deduced calmly as she regained composure and walked over to her boss, "Here you go sir" she said as she handed him the letter, gaining a small smile from the man.

"Thank you Sodia, take a seat if you wish" Flynn offered as he opened up a drawer, pulling out a letter opener. Sodia, taking him up on his request sat down in the seat, situated in front of his desk, and watched her boss as he read the letter.

As he read the contents carefully, Sodia noticed how the man's face changed from relaxed to aggravated, it started at the eyes, which sharpened all of a sudden, after that she noticed Flynn bite his lower lip angrily, it was clear to her what he had read, especially when the man screwed up the letter and slammed it on his desk uncharacteristically.

Despite this Sodia kept calm, she would always accept everything about her leader, even when he wasn't acting the way she admired. Silence and tension filled the room for a minute until Flynn decided to speak.

"They rejected everything" he said in a downtrodden tone, which masked the true anger that he felt.

"I could tell" Sodia said in a calm tone, Flynn turned to her quickly and she felt obligated to say "sir" to show her respect, this small act made Flynn's demeanour change from angry to frustrated, it wasn't much but at least he didn't feel like hitting anyone anymore.

"If you don't mind, could you tell me the reasons?" Sodia asked, making Flynn sigh.

"According to his Highness Ioder, the Grand-Duke, leader of the council referred to it as child-like idealism" Flynn said as his teeth began to grind slightly. "Which is strange, because according to the figures, the returns from the schemes would increase government funds whilst being fairer for all" Flynn said slowly, as he ran a hand through his blonde hair.

Sodia could tell that Flynn was seriously annoyed, and was only keeping his calm because she was there. She knew how long Flynn had spent on the Lower Quarter Renovation Plan and the Renewed Taxes plan, so she understood his frustration and in turn felt some herself.

"That council has no idea what they are talking about, if only his Highness had more power over decisions" Flynn said in a strained voice.

"Sir, as much as I agree with you, we should always be careful of what we say, who knows who's listening" Sodia warned her superior, who laughed slightly at her suggestion.

"You're right Sodia, you're right" Flynn repeated, as he forced himself to become calm. "Now isn't the time to get angry, we should focus on changing the system without those men turning us down" Flynn said in a renewed calm. "Thank you Sodia... for your concern" Flynn said with a smile, making the woman nod her head.

"Any time sir" Sodia replied, making Flynn laugh, this shocked the young woman slightly. "Is.. there a problem sir?" she asked curiously, feeling slightly embarrassed to be honest.

"Oh, no it's nothing, it's just I realised our roles had reversed for a moment, you were the calm one and I was the hot-headed one, I found it amusing" Flynn said with a genuine smile, which in turn made Sodia give a rare smile.

"Is that so..." Sodia said quietly, she wasn't embarrassed, in fact she understood some of the humour behind it.

"Yeah, it is, so I'll take up my former role and brief you on what's to be done next" Flynn said, completely dropping the previous subject for the time being.

As Sodia sat still, Flynn opened up a drawer and pulled out a few reports. "We've been receiving reports from Capua Nor that people are being attacked at night, would you send word to Captain Michael to deal with the problem as soon as possible?" Flynn asked the woman.

"I assume you are talking about Michael Lexar, son of the Grand-Duke in the council... is this some kind of punishment, assigning him such a small job because of what his father did?" Sodia asked in a calm voice.

"It's purely coincidental I promise, I just believe Captain Michael can deal with the threat as quickly as possible, unlike his father, the Captain is quite the reliable man" Flynn said, voicing his full confidence in the man, Sodia seemed to accept this response.

"Anything else sir?" Sodia asked her superior who shaked his head. In response Sodia got to her feet, and walked towards the door.

"Well there is one more thing" Flynn said slightly absentmindedly, causing Sodia to turn around. "Care to join me for dinner, I'm starving" Flynn said in a joking tone, making Sodia freeze on the spot.

"... I'd like to but I'm afraid I'll have to decline" Sodia said quickly before exiting the room, once outside she put a hand to her face, feeling intense heat. It was right then that she heard a small chuckle coming from her left, it was from a no-name knight. Sodia just turned and glared at the man before walking off down the hall.

Back inside the room, Flynn began to laugh, he found it surprising how someone as aggressive as Sodia had a calming factor on him. That laugh however soon turned to frustration again, he felt as if all his hard work was for nothing, yet he'd never give up.

Not until he'd changed the world.

* * *

><p>(End of Chapter)<p>

It was a small chapter but it was only to be used as a prologue, I'm guessing you already know the main pairing, but unlike most fictions, romance is going to take a backseat, in favour of the plot. Yuri and the gang appear later on, and Yuri plays a secondary protagonist role.

Hope you enjoyed, chapter two will be very soon.

-Aquilon


	2. Vanishing Act

Changing the World isn't Easy chapter two

**Vanishing Act**

The Lower Quarter of Zaphias was known as one of the more deprived areas of the world. Despite being situated within the Royal Capital, the area was poverty stricken. Taxes continued to rise and many crimes were ignored.

This place was called home by two of the world's most well known heroes. Commandant Flynn Scifo, and Yuri Lowell who was part of Brave Vesperia, a courier guild. This in current times was a good occupation.

After the Eternal Shutdown, an event which referred to the spontaneous inactivity of all Blastia around the world, people found it increasingly hard to contact those on other continents. Brave Vesperia capitalised on this, and with the worlds only air transport service, dominated the world of courier services.

Many people within the Lower Quarter took pride in the two men, who were jokingly coined as the two princes of the Lower Quarter. All civilians in the Lower Quarter took solace in the knowledge that if anything serious ever happened in the Lower Quarter, those two would instantly run to their aid.

This is why the flood of women and children who were being bound at the mouth and limbs before being forced into dark boxes weren't as afraid, they truly believed that the situation would get better in an instant, a few screamed, but were quickly silenced. None of them understood what was going on, each and every one of them awoke in a rusty jail cell, and their capturers wore masks hiding their identities.

None of them knew how much time had passed, or how long they'd been unconscious, the only thing they knew was, Yuri Lowell and Flynn Scifo would save them without fail. This was the collective thoughts of at least 50 captive individuals.

Little did they know that things were going to get so much worse for them, and their two princes weren't going to rescue them any time soon.

A few days prior

As Flynn sat in his office as usual, he heard a familiar knock. "Come in" he called, and as he expected, Sodia entered the room. He had gotten used to the sound of her knocking at the door recently, and could identify her just from that.

"Sir, I have some urgent news" Sodia cried out uncharacteristically in a concerned tone.

Flynn hearing this got to his feet and walked over to his Lieutenant so he was standing face to face with her. "What is it Sodia, explain it to me slowly" Flynn said calmly.

"There have been reports of disappearances in the Lower Quarter... a few missing people is easy to excuse but we've had up to 50 letters from families reporting the missing of family members" Sodia said in a serious tone, which made Flynn's blood turn cold.

"Could you say that again please Sodia?" Flynn asked in a disbelieving tone, such an act sounded impossible, not to mention, deeply unnerving for him personally.

"Sir, it's true, here's the reports, I made sure to bring them with me personally" Sodia replied, she knew what he wanted to know and thus responded as such.

Flynn momentarily wondered how he managed to have a subordinate who knew him at such a level as she handed him the report. These thoughts quickly dissipated as he quickly scanned the report with his eyes. After a quick read, Flynn realised it was as Sodia had said, 50 disappearances in one night, the mere notion was implausible, but if the report was telling the truth then something serious must have occurred in the Lower Quarter.

"Sodia" Flynn muttered as he tossed the report to the side, "We're going to go investigate the Lower Quarter" he said in an authoritative tone, the same tone that the woman admired so much.

"Yes Sir!" the woman responded enthusiastically, she had missed times like this. Where Flynn would just take control and go off to solve a problem, ever since becoming Commandant the man had been forced to spend most of his time at a desk, so despite the severity of the current situation, she felt a pang of excitement.

The pair quickly exited Knight HQ, once outside they broke into a full sprint, well to be more accurate, Flynn broke out into a sprint and Sodia was felt compelled to follow. As the two rushed through the Royal Quarter, they noticed a couple of nobles who tried to converse with them, however Flynn ignored them and sprinted down the large steps, this gained the response of "dirty commoner" something Sodia wished to punish them for but she desperately didn't want to lose Flynn's trail so ignored it.

Their movement was much like a hurricane blowing through everything; the only difference was that they left no destruction behind them. It wasn't long until they reached the Lower Quarter, which seemed no different, but if the report was true then something serious went down the previous night.

As Flynn surveyed the plaza, Sodia slouched over to try and catch her breath, feeling in awe once more of her leader who wasn't affected in the slightest. After a few short moments, Flynn seemed to find what he was looking for and began walking over to an old man.

"Hanks, I just heard the news, is it true?" Flynn asked the old man in a panic, feeling pretty confident the man knew what he was asking about.

The man known as Hank was like a grandfather to most children in the Lower Quarter, and was seen as a sort of leader for the people of the run down area. For this very reason, Flynn saw it fit to ask him, because if anybody would know it'd be him.

The man raised an eyebrow at Flynn and smiled. "No greeting first Flynn?" the old man asked, seemingly unfazed.

"Hanks I don't think it's the correct time for jokes" Flynn informed the man who raised another eyebrow.

"Calm down Flynn, getting yourself all worked up won't solve anything" the old man lectured, which silenced the Commandant. "Now that you're calm, I'll have you know that I have heard the news, it's most unsettling" the old man said in a grave tone.

As Sodia watched the two talk, she noticed that Flynn treated the old man known as Hanks with a great deal of respect, it was as if Flynn was talking to his own grandfather or something.

"This may be an obvious question, but did anything suspicious occur last night?" Flynn asked the man, who shook his head.

"Not a single weird incidence, well besides this. In fact the only oddity last night was the fact that it was quieter than usual" the old man said absentmindedly.

"Then how did 50 people just disappear into thin air?" Flynn asked the man, it wasn't a forceful question; it was just out of curiosity.

"I wouldn't know, who knows maybe they all went somewhere to eat, and got lost" the old man said.

"That's overly optimistic, even for you Hanks" Flynn pointed out as he brought a hand to his chin. "Has anyone you've talked to said anything peculiar?" Flynn asked which was met with a shake of the head.

"Once again, nothing" the old man said, which made Flynn's expression turn saddened. "Sorry I couldn't be of any help to you Flynn" the old man said apologetically.

"It's not your fault and don't worry, I'll make sure that each and every one of them are returned to their homes, just you wait, but for now I think I'll go talk with some other people" Flynn assured the old man before turning around. "Let's go Sodia" he told the woman who nodded and walked up to him.

"Young lady, he's quite the troublemaker if you take your eyes off him, so be careful" the man warned jokingly, much like he had only a few years back to Princess Estellise.

Sodia looked at the man as if he was insane, how could her perfect leader be a troublemaker, but gave the man a small smile nonetheless. "..Thanks" she murmured before following after Flynn.

-Later on the same day-

After an entire day of questioning nearly every victim's family the pair were left exhausted. Despite their exhaustion they were fairly pleased, as the mystery of what connected all the victims was near enough cleared up.

The answer was simple, there was no true connection. Instead people were taken by convenience. Gender didn't seem to matter to whoever kidnapped them, that's if it was indeed a kidnapping. Every person missing was out that night and never returned, so there was no breaking and entering into homes.

However even with this cleared up Flynn didn't feel any true satisfaction. In fact it built upon his worries. He wondered how someone could just roam the Lower Quarter and pluck up anybody he or she saw, especially with all the Knights that were deployed in the Lower Quarter.

"Sorry we couldn't get any witnesses" Sodia apologised to her superior who raised his eyebrow in confusion.

"Why are you apologising, there was nothing to find" Flynn said kindly to his subordinate as they walked back towards Knights HQ.

"I don't know, I just thought I'd say it" Sodia said awkwardly. In general Sodia wasn't much of a conversationalist, yet she had a great understanding about how people felt around her, because of this she felt compelled to apologise.

"Well don't" Flynn said sternly, shocking the young woman. "It made you sound guilty of something, I'd hate that" Flynn followed up, changing her shock to pleasant surprise.

"Thanks" Sodia replied softly as they continued to walk back, though in Sodia's case it was more like dragging herself back, she was that tired.

"So where do we go from here? Its early days but I don't think the victims are in Zaphias anymore" Sodia asked her superior who seemed to nod in agreement.

"For now you should take a break, I'll do some overtime; I'll ask some questions in the Citizens Quarter after some dinner. Perhaps somebody saw something or someone" Flynn said optimistically.

"I think we should send a group of Knights to meet up with Captain Michael, he's currently on his way to Nor Harbour, to inform him of the situation" Sodia said tiredly.

"That's an excellent idea Sodia" Flynn praised before yawning slightly, "this is why you're most fit to be my second-in-command" Flynn praised as he patted her on the back, Sodia felt great pride from his words.

As they reached the Royal Quarter, Flynn's stomach growled loudly. "Want to join me for dinner this time?" Flynn joked once more, gaining a similar response to the time before, he felt slightly disappointed but he knew Sodia was just that sort of person.

As they reached HQ the two decided to part ways for the day. "My shift is over now sir, so I'll be returning to the manor" Sodia said as if it was one of the most natural things in the world. After all Sodia was the daughter of Baron Cain Valeria, thus was a member of nobility.

"Ok then Sodia, good work today, I'll see you tomorrow. Maybe we'll find out some more information then" Flynn said with a smile before walking into the HQ to get himself a well earned meal.

As he walked through HQ he nodded to a few Knights who gave him a small wave in response, when he reached the dinner hall he turned to a few Knights who were speaking in a hushed whisper. When he walked passed they suddenly went quiet and turned to him before turning back to each other and walking out.

Flynn momentarily found it suspicious but his hunger made him quickly forget, in favour of getting some of the mabo curry which was being served that day.

As the Commandant ate his meal, the two Knights he had spotted whispering sighed in relief. "That was a close one you know" the first Knight muttered.

"Yeah, if he'd of heard us, who knows what could have happened" the second one replied, sounding slightly exasperated.

"Never speak of it again right?" the first one replied.

"Yes, never again" the second responded, and with that the two went separate ways.

* * *

><p>(End of Chapter)<p>

Ok this is the start of the mystery, I know things seem to be moving fast but this fiction is intended to have no filler. Everything said has a reason, and I have a whole plan for the fiction, so there is no making up as I go along.

The reviewers seemed glad that I didn't show a tortured Sodia, to be honest I like her despite the fact that she stabs my favourite character, her strong facade seems to be a mask to hide her weaknesses, mainly in regards to her beliefs that she can protect Flynn.

I really like her, so this fiction is as much about her as it is about Flynn. Finally if anyone cares, Yuri will be the star of next chapter, and yes Brave Vesperia is a postal like service ha!

I recommend anyone interested in this fiction to alert it because it will get frequent updates.

-Aquilon


	3. Enter Brave Vesperia

Changing the World isn't Easy Chapter Three

I'm rather pleased with the feedback so far, I didn't know fictions like this were rare, but I'm glad.

**Enter Brave Vesperia**

Brave Vesperia was a guild that truly stood out from the crowd. Despite having very few members, rumoured to be in the numbers of four to five, they held a substantial amount of influence. The service that they offered was unconventional, but essential. Brave Vesperia did the job that others found rather tedious, which was delivery.

They were the only guild in the world who could boast a moving headquarters. Their base of operations was a boat which was towed by a giant, flying whale like creature, the Entelexeia Ba'ul. In nearly every city and small town there was a small docking bay, where the guild would land. This cost a considerable amount of money, but it helped solidate their importance.

These bays were identical in size and merely consisted of a frame where their boat, the Fiertia would settle. From there they would wait for people in the town to arrive with packages they would like to send.

Fee's were decided through weight, size and sometimes, general income of the customer. This didn't mean they did jobs for free, but they were a fair guild who operated on the grounds of justice.

This wasn't the full reason for the guilds fame. A large contributory factor was the book, Tales of Vesperia, published by Princess Estellise Sidos Heurassein. Whilst many nobles believed it to be a mere fairy tale, those who came in contact with Brave Vesperia, and those of the guilds understood, the true heroes of the world were Brave Vesperia.

The second factor was their most influential member. This in fact was not the guild leader Karol Capel. It was actually the infamous man, Yuri Lowell.

Yuri Lowell was a young man, age 24 and was the childhood friend of Commandant Flynn Scifo. He was known as an evil vigilante by nobles, credited with the murders of councilman Ragou and Captain Cumore of the Imperial Knights. These same 'evils' were seen as actions of good by members of the Union, it could be said, that because he was pardoned for his crimes, even his Highness Ioder condoned his actions, but that is merely a rumour.

His purple eyes and long, unkempt black hair made him an instantly recognisable figure. He was by far the most famous commoner on Terca Lumireis, only matched by Flynn Scifo. The fact that his name brought controversy actually increased business for Brave Vesperia, that very same business was about to be conducted once more.

"Hey, Judith darlin' how much long til' Capua Nor? My poor back is aching from bein' on this ship" a middle aged man complained melodramatically. This man was Raven, more famously known as First Captain Schwann Oltorain, veteran of the Great War.

"If you don't like it, how about getting off, I'd say it's only a 500ft drop" replied a sultry voice, belonging to the beautiful, yet sadistic Krityan, Judith.

"D'aww you can be so cold at times, you know that" the man sulked as he rolled over.

"Really? I never noticed" Judith said in a frighteningly convincing tone, which made all those present feel slightly cold.

"Haha, don't let it get to you Raven. She doesn't mean it" the young guild leader, Karol Capel told the man as he crouched down.

Karol, now 15 looked almost like a completely different person from the boy who Yuri met in Quoi Woods. Not only had he gotten taller and wider, but his voice had also broken. His choice of clothing really hadn't changed much though, nor had his hair.

The strangest thing about Karol was the fact that he looked far beyond his age, and could easily pass for an 18 year old. In the past he used to complain about not being strong, but not now, instead people looked at his muscular build and felt jealous. People assumed the reason for this was the fact that he'd been using large hammers and swords for years.

"Who do you think I am, you?" Raven quipped back at the teen. Obviously offended that Karol thought he was being serious.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Karol asked angrily, grasping his heavy Bravior sword tightly as he said it.

"What did your ability to think stop once your body grew?" Raven baited the guild leader.

"That does it!" Karol screamed, as he got ready to swing his sword.

"Don't let him get to you captain, if you kill him now, who'll handle the negotiations. It pains me to say it but the old man has his uses" called out the infamous man, who sat calmly with his back against the cabin wall, eyes closed, with Repede at his side.

"Oh yeah" Karol said as if he'd come to a realisation, dropping his killing urge at the same time.

"Gee, you sure don't pull any punches do ya', you're gonna break this old man's heart" Raven complained as he rolled over once more, making Yuri chuckle slightly.

"If you boys are done playing around, get ready, we've arrived" Judith called out from the helm. She was the ship's captain, regardless of her position in the guild. She even dressed like it too, adorning herself in this brown leather jacket and black trousers. She also wore a brown hat, in a slightly similar style to Yuri's black hat.

"It's your turn today kid" Raven told the black haired man who grinned excitedly.

"Alright, finally time for a little action" Yuri said as he cracked his knuckles and walked over to the edge of the boat to grab a rope, making Judith giggle slightly.

"You remember how to do it don't you?" Judith asked the man as Ba'ul began to descend slowly. She herself also grabbed a rope on the opposite side of the boat.

As Ba'ul got closer and closer to the city, Yuri and Judith made sure they were properly strapped up. Once they were, they both stood on the railings. Awaiting orders from Raven, this time.

As the boat got even closer, a few cheers resounded from passerby's obviously pleased by the sight of the flying guild headquarters.

"Ok steady... on your marks, get set, GO!" Raven ordered the two, who instantly jumped off the railing and descended towards the ground.

The rope was firm enough for the two to kind of abseil downwards to the bottom of the ship, once there, they would improvise depending on who was doing it.

Judith who was already adept in air combat, gracefully flipped. Using the rope like a bungee cord to give herself a decent landing. On the other side, Yuri turned his body and kicked off the bottom of the boat to give himself some distance, before landing fairly easily, this was met with a roar of applause by onlookers.

From there on the two simply had to tie the rope to the pillars, once that was done, Karol dropped some more down for the duo to tie down, kind of like setting anchor on a ship.

With that in place, Ba'ul was able to steadily drop the boat down without damaging its structural integrity. The entire act was done solely for that reason, and partly to make a showy entrance.

"Wheew" Raven mock cheered as he looked over the edge, applauding the black haired man with a small smirk, gaining one in return from him.

"I don't know what you're joking about, it's your go next time old man" Yuri called back to him, making Raven quickly disappear from view, backing away from the edge in the process.

As the boat began to land, a few people approached Yuri and Judith respectively, asking them the general questions such as, "How long will you be in town for" and various questions on how long it would take to deliver to so and so.

"You'll have to take that up with the leader" Yuri said, diverting the responsibility onto the young man.

All Yuri wanted to do right now was getting his sword from the boat and then go and get something to eat. "Hey Judy" Yuri called out. "What you planning on doing whilst we're docked?" Yuri asked the beautiful Krityan who put a hand to her mouth to think.

"Well, I might go for a walk and then get something to eat, you?" Judith replied before quickly deflecting the question back to him.

"I'll probably head to the nearby restaurant, I might buy some stuff, you know just relaxing really" Yuri said in a nonchalant manner.

"As long as you don't go off and get into any fights" Judith quipped, the realistic chance that it would happen was quite scary.

"I don't want to hear that, especially from you Judy" Yuri replied with a grin.

"Now whatever do you mean?" Judith asked as she raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly, before Yuri could reply Raven shouted down to the two.

"As much as I enjoy watching you two, you should probably get what you need from the boat whilst you still can" Raven told the two, who nodded and went to collect their stuff.

-A little bit later-

After Yuri and Judith went their separate ways, all that was left was for Karol and Raven to rake in the work. In the short time that they'd hit the town, they'd already secured small package deliveries to Dahngrest and Halure. They weren't massively paid jobs, but the pay from them was enough to cover all potential expenses for the next few trips.

"It's been a bit livelier since we picked Yuri up in Halure hasn't it Raven" Karol commented, from beside the man, standing shoulder to shoulder with him.

"I guess" Raven said, shrugging off the comment. "I wonder why he was in Halure though" he pondered mischievously as he scratched his stubble.

"He was probably visiting Estelle, and when we arrived he decided to hop on board, I think your reasons for getting on board was more suspicious to be honest Raven" the teen said in a dubious tone.

"Hey, what's with the tone, there's nothin' suspicious about ole Raven coming aboard is their?" Raven mocked hurt.

"Well, you were half-drunk and missing some trousers for that matter" Karol stated before laughing. "Seriously what were you doing?" Karol asked curiously.

"Let's just avoid that topic shall we?" Raven said quickly as he walked towards the front door of the magistrates office.

"Aw come on!" Karol complained but was quickly shushed by Raven.

"You two got any business with the magistrate?" a burly guard asked in a deep voice.

"Why yes" Raven started out sarcastically, though to normal people it sounded more like enthusiasm. "We received word that the magistrate needed something delivered to Heliord as quickly as possible, so here we are Brave Vesperia, at your service" Raven finished his little introduction.

"Ah, that's brilliant, let me inform the magistrate that you have arrived" the guard responded in a chipper tone, as he turned around and entered the magistrates office.

After a few moments of waiting, and impressed staring from Karol, the magistrate himself arrived at the door.

"Good day" the man started in a thick, upper class accent. "I have been informed that you are members of Brave Vesperia, correct?" the frail looking magistrate asked.

"Not just members" Raven said with a smile. "You are looking at the Guild Leader and the second-in-command" Raven told the man in a grandiose tone, obviously intending to impress the man.

"Splendid" the magistrate said in a delighted tone, his features visibly brightening. "Please come in, I have some important business to discuss" the man beckoned, turning to the side to courteously let the two enter the glamorous manor.

-At the same time-

True to his word, Yuri went off to the nearest restaurant. The feel of his sword, the Second Star hanging from his hand, brought him a subconscious comfort, befitting of someone of his combat prowess.

Luckily for Yuri, the restaurant allowed dogs in which was an added bonus. As much as Repede didn't mind sitting outside, Yuri often preferred having his loyal companion with him at all times.

As Yuri walked up to the counter, he noticed a man in an Imperial Knights uniform watching him carefully. The man had slicked back red hair and green eyes and his lower face was coated by a small amount of facial hair.

Yuri assumed this man was of high rank, he could tell by the man's uniform which adorned the colours of green, white and blue. It irritated Yuri that he was being watched, but he was famous amongst knights so he dealt with it.

As Yuri was set to order, the man got up from his seated position and walked over to Yuri, the man's movement was followed by the eyes of twenty knights, whom Yuri assumed were the man's subordinates.

"Excuse me, I wouldn't be wrong in assuming you're Yuri Lowell?" the man asked in an accent that clearly signaled that he was a noble, making Yuri smirk slightly, Repede however growled at the man.

"And if I am?" Yuri asked as he tilted his hat slightly and slung his sword over his shoulder, his tone purposely forceful to sound challenging.

"Then I would very much like to fight you, care to accept my challenge?" the man asked with an aura of confidence, which made Yuri's blood heat up in an instant.

"And who might you be?" Yuri replied sarcastically, imitating the man's form of speech to purposely rile him up.

"I'm Captain Michael Lexar of the Imperial Knights" he said proudly, putting his hand to the hilt of his sword. "And the man that will defeat you Yuri Lowell!"

* * *

><p>(End of Chapter)<p>

Whew that was a fun chapter to write. The next few chapters is Yuri's side. You see this fiction is split between Flynn and Yuri's side, they do come into contact quite soon actually. However I decided that it would be more fun to have everyone involved, except Rita :S (for now anyway.)

This is the first glimpse of Captain Michael Lexar, he is an important character, but don't worry he won't be a stupendously overpowered, godlike OC.

Hope you enjoyed.

-Aquilon


	4. Three Hundred Thousand Gald

Changing the World isn't Easy Chapter Four

Wow this fiction seems to be gathering interest; I am pleased, thanks for all the reviews!

**Three-Hundred Thousand Gald!**

The sheer arrogance showed by Michael Lexar brought a grin to Yuri's face. Never one to step down from a challenge, Yuri quickly tossed aside his sheath, sending it flying across the restaurant. At the same time he tossed his sword into his left hand and brought it down viciously towards the Imperial Knights Captain.

"My, so impatient" the man mocked as he effortlessly parried Yuri's blade with a quick draw of his sword, this movement made Yuri stumble back slightly, giving the man a clear opening.

As Yuri regained his footing, the man darted forwards, thrusting his green and black sword towards Yuri's unprotected abdomen. Most people would have been defeated in an instant, but Yuri, a seasoned fighter who'd dealt the final blow to Commandant Alexei and fought toe-to-toe with the war hero Duke Pantarei was able to agilely dodge the thrust by adjusting his body carefully to the side.

"That was close" Yuri said as a cool sweat dripped from his forehead. However despite his clearly concerned response, Yuri was actually enjoying himself as he hopped backwards to increase the distance between himself and Michael.

"It seems I underestimated you Lowell" the red-haired captain commented dryly as he too decreased the distance between himself and Yuri. "Men, I don't want anyone interfering, if you do, I'll have you court marshalled for insubordination" the man ordered his Knights who backed away giving more room for the two.

"Repede, if they do get involved you know what to do" Yuri told his dog who growled to signal his understanding.

As the two stared off, the man behind the counter backed away and ducked down, hiding from view. Luckily for his business, the only people currently in the restaurant were the twenty or so Knights, the captain and Yuri.

"No Artes" Yuri demanded, making the green eyes of the captain twinkle slightly.

"How gentleman like, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were a decent person. Very well, I accept your challenge!" the captain roared in delight as he broke into a half-sprint, closing the distance between him and the black haired man in an instant.

Yuri anticipating the man's draw closed the gap even further, making the captains quick draw nearly impossible to pull off. With that Yuri kicked the man in the stomach powerfully with his grey leather boots, sending the now wincing captain crashing into a nearby wooden table, which snapped under the impact.

As the red-haired captain cried out, Yuri ran forwards and jumped, sword pointing downwards, seemingly aiming to impale the man. In fact Yuri had always planned on stopping inches from him. However the man didn't know this, and in his panic, rolled to the side narrowly dodging Yuri's assault as the Second Star pierced through the table.

The man, seeing this as an advantage, kicked Yuri's legs out from under him, sending the commoner hero crashing to the ground, knocking some of the air out of his lungs in the process. "D-damn" Yuri moaned as the captain rolled over and was now on top of him locking Yuri's movement in the process, a fist raised back in the air.

"Take this" the man cried and ravaged his fist into Yuri's jaw, making blood spill out of his mouth. As the man pulled back to throw another punch, Yuri realised the sheer strength of the man, who stood above him in height, despite Yuri being a good six foot.

As the man's fist came crashing down a second time Yuri moved his head, making the captain bunch the hard wooden floorboards instead. The impact shocked the captain who loosened his grip on Yuri who deftly took advantage by headbutting him in the nose, drawing blood whilst causing the captain to stumble away.

Now free to move again Yuri rolled backwards so he could get into a standing position, and quickly ran to the nearby table to retrieve his sword which was trapped in the wood. After a small moment, Yuri finally freed the sword, but this was enough time for the captain to get back to his feet.

With his lower face covered in blood, the captain looked like some deranged murderer; this was mainly due to the smile he donned as he looked at Yuri. "I haven't had such a challenge since I fought that Commandant" the man praised Yuri who raised an eyebrow.

"You mean Flynn?" Yuri questioned with a small grin as blood trickled from his lip, which was cut.

"Yes, he is the only man who has ever defeated me in battle" Michael said with a small hint of pride as he drew his sword and held it in front of himself.

"Interesting" Yuri said with a smirk, eyes sharpened as he held the sword, Second Star in front of himself. "I'm the only person who's defeated Flynn in battle" Yuri said with pride.

"Indeed, that's what makes you such an intriguing person, Mr. Yuri Lowell" the man said as he ran at Yuri, swinging his sword at a pace which forced Yuri to block his sword with his own.

However this was a bad thing. Now Yuri was forced to hold Second Star horizontally with both hands, one on the hilt the other near the tip of the blade, this was to withstand the constant pressure that Michael was exerting with his sword.

Now at a complete standstill, it was a test of strength of who would give way first. Would it be Yuri, who'd be defeated in an instant if he did, or Michael, who'd risk letting Yuri free if he did. As the two glared into each other's eyes, Yuri saw something that reminded him of himself.

"Those are the eyes of someone who has killed before" Yuri accused, with a small mocking grin which irritated Captain Michael.

"When you decide to become a Knight, sometimes killing people is unavoidable" Michael quickly deflected the comment. "I don't kill people for the fun of it unlike you" Michael said in an angry, yet composed tone.

"You're lying" Yuri stated boldly as he put more strength into his block. "Knights are there to protect people, not to kill, you're lying Michael" Yuri said coldly as he pushed back with all his might.

"Shut it you stupid commoner!" Michael roared angrily, this was exactly what Yuri was waiting for, the moment where Michael was no longer completely composed.

The loss of composure caused Michael to act erratically. He put too much strength into his attack which lacked any control. Taking advantage of this, Yuri allowed Michael's sword to slide off his own, then he jumped backwards to avoid a horizontal slash by the noble Captain.

The onslaught didn't stop there. After slashing at Yuri, Michael moved forward and tried again, but Yuri was prepared and half-backflipped away from Michaels thrust, using his hand to push off the floor, to make him land on the table.

Michael wasn't aware of Yuri's plan, so he continued to rush towards Yuri, who strolled backwards across the table, and when he reached the edge, stomped, flipping the table of his side. Michael didn't notice this until the last second, so when he thrusted his sword, it got lodged into the table.

Now without any weapon, and anywhere to go, Michael was left stranded as Yuri kicked the table from behind it, sending Michael flying onto his back once more, stuck under a table in the process.

As the captain lay prone of the floor, Yuri smirked and walked over to the trapped captain, pointing the Second Star at his neck. "This fight is mine" Yuri claimed, and the battle was over.

As Michael looked up at the black haired man, his anger dissipated and he smiled slightly. "You have some skills with a sword, and you know how make your opponents lose focus" the man said solemnly as Yuri removed the table from atop him. "You're good for a commoner" Michael said as he grabbed Yuri's outstretched hand and got to his feet.

"Thanks, I guess" Yuri said as he turned around and looked at the damages he'd caused. "This is bad" Yuri said with a small gulp as Repede walked over to his side.

"Don't worry, I'll deal with this" the captain said as he took a deep breath. "Men, I want you to clean up all this mess, don't miss a single bit or else" Michael ordered, and in an instant twenty men shouted "Yes Sir!" making him smile.

"You've got some well trained men" Yuri said as he walked across the restaurant to get his sheath. "It's a surprise that they'll clean up when they didn't cause the mess" Yuri said as he walked over to the counter, ready to order finally.

"It's the advantage of being a captain" Michael joked as he headed for the door. "Good day to you Mr. Lowell" he bid farewell, but just before he left Yuri said one last thing.

"Hey Michael, I wasn't making you lose focus" Yuri said making Michael's eyes turn sharp. "I was being serious" he finished as he looked over the counter to see a cowering man.

"If you say so" Michael called back before walking out, visibly angered in the process.

-At the same time-

Karol and Raven sat across from the Magistrate. The only barrier between them was a low coffee table which had several expensive mugs sitting on top of it. Raven was used to this kind of situation, being both a negotiator and a noble, albeit discarded nobleship.

It wasn't known to many people, but Schwann Oltorain wasn't Raven's real name. It was a name given to him by Alexei. In fact his real name was Damuron Atomais, heir to the fallen House of Atomais, of whom the leader held the rank of Earl. Damuron was a constant shame to his family, which led him to his eventual fate in the Imperial Knights.

His noble background and life experience made him quite the conversationalist, and thus made him the ideal person to negotiate Brave Vesperia's business ventures. He knew the right moves to impress nobility and the correct words to say. In general, Raven was Brave Vesperia's most important member.

As he picked up his mug, he eyed the Magistrate carefully who watched on calmly with his aged eyes. Smiling slightly, Raven put the mug on the saucer and gestured with his hand to the Magistrate. "We may be guests, but please don't hold yourself back for us" Raven said kindly.

"Thank you" the man replied as he stretched over and slowly lifted the mug, Raven suspected that the man wasn't as weak as he let on, but ignored it. After sipping the rich tea, the man licked his lips. "That's some nice tea" the Magistrate said happily as he placed the cup back down.

Raven took that small moment to elbow Karol in the ribs. "Hey, thank him for inviting us so courteously" Raven ordered quickly as he reached over to have a sip himself. "I must extend my compliments to whoever brew it" Raven said with a small smile, he actually did like the tea.

Karol followed Raven's example and sipped the tea, but unlike Raven, Karol wasn't that fond of tea, but put up with it. "Thank you for inviting us so kindly sir" Karol said respectfully, making Raven smile.

"Oh no, thank you for coming at such short notice" the man said as he placed one hand over the other. "Now about that job" the man croaked, putting Raven at full alert. "We have a rather large cargo that needs to be delivered to Heliord, it's of upmost importance that it is delivered within a day" the man said in a grave tone.

"How large do you mean?" Raven asked carefully, thinking that this might be one heck of a big payday.

"Around twenty-five crates worth of goods" the man revealed, much to the delight of Karol, whose eyes practically became Gald symbols.

"Tw-Twenty-five crates?" Karol exclaimed. "What exactly is this cargo?" Karol asked but received a glare from both Raven and the Magistrate.

"That is of no concern" the Magistrate said in his normal, calm, kind sounding voice. "Please mind your manners though" the man said shakily.

"Haha, kids these days" Raven played along. "If only they'd had the upbringing I did" Raven joked, he didn't mean it though as to him his upbringing was hell.

"Indeed" the man replied, sounding his support for Raven's comment. "These kids who've never witnessed war are so undisciplined" the man said making Raven nod, though he never wished the horrors of war upon anyone.

"Well, I wouldn't know much about war personally" Raven interjected but was met with the laugh of the Magistrate.

"Oh is that so. I was under the impression that you were First Captain Schwann Oltorain" the man said with an accusatory tone. When he noticed Raven's obvious discomfort he waved it off. "Maybe I was mistaken, but that young man sure was something" the Magistrate mused happily as he got to his feet.

Raven deciding to cut the topic short decided to get back to business. "Ahem, back to the details of the job, you said it was important to get to Heliord within a day, is there any specific reason?" Raven asked without making himself sound suspicious.

The Magistrate thought about this for a small moment and then lifted one finger. "In simple terms these goods have a small shelf-life, we wish to get them delivered quickly because of this" the Magistrate claimed, whilst at the same time convincing both members of Brave Vesperia.

"Ah I see" Raven said with a smile. "I'm sure we can do this for you, but we'll have to discuss a fee" the man said with a hint of a grin.

"I have a set fee I wish to pay, nothing more nothing less" the Magistrate replied, surprising Karol.

"Go ahead" Raven said as he drank the last of his tea before resting his chin on his hands. Unaware to Karol, the two older men were staring each other out, searching for the best possible outcome in the long run.

"Three-hundred thousand Gald" the Magistrate said calmly making everything go silent. Raven couldn't believe what he was hearing, and Karol was already in wonderland.

"T-three-hundred thousand?" Raven said gaining a nod from the Magistrate, upon seeing this, the old man turned to Karol and asked. "What do you think boss?" obviously trying to not sound too excited.

"I-I think it can be arranged" Karol squeaked, it was the first time Raven had heard that tone in a very long time.

"It looks like the boss is ok with it, care to solidate the deal?" Raven asked the Magistrate who held out his hand to Karol who shook it shakily.

"Payment will be given to you in two instalments." The Magistrate told the two who were too busy imagining how they'd spend the money to care. "The first will be here in Capua Nor. The second will be given to you by my associate in Heliord" the Magistrate said in a stern tone. "Is that to your liking?" the man asked making Raven nod along with Karol.

"Good" the man said as he sat down again. "Now that's out of the way, how about we enjoy some more tea?" the Magistrate offered, and deciding they didn't want to reject any of his generosity, the two agreed eagerly.

-Later On-

As the sun set over the ocean waters of Capua Nor, Yuri walked back to the Fiertia. Having enjoyed his fight with Captain Michael Lexar, Yuri was in good spirits, though he couldn't help but feel slightly suspicious of the man.

As he whistled the tune of the song 'Ring a Bell' Yuri slightly wondered how things were going in Zaphias. However any potential concerns were quickly washed away by the thought of Flynn being in the capital. "The Lower Quarter is safe without me" Yuri said, briefly stopping his whistling before resuming.

With Repede at his side, he took his time to enjoy the scenery. The mixture of orange and red in the sky made him think of someone who'd definitely enjoy this scene. With that person in mind he decided that he'd return to Halure when he could.

As he strolled through town he ran into his leader, Karol, who was carrying a large crate all by himself. "Wow, that's a big one" Yuri said sarcastically, watching his leader without any intention of helping out.

"Yuri" Karol exclaimed as he put the crate down. "You are not going to believe this!" Karol said excitedly making Yuri raise an eyebrow.

"What is it captain?" Yuri asked curiously, Repede on the other hand walked up to the crate and sniffed it curiously before moaning. "What is it boy?" Yuri asked the dog who whimpered. "Hey Karol what's in the box?" Yuri asked the leader who grinned.

"Some goods that are said to expire soon, so we have to get to Heliord as fast as possible" Karol told Yuri who raised an eyebrow. "Don't give me that look Yuri, we have three-hundred thousand Gald riding on this job" Karol said proudly.

"T-three-hundred thousand?" Yuri questioned in shock. "Then... I guess I'll help out" Yuri said nonchalantly and lifted one side of the crate, feeling the contents shift slightly. "We'll have to be careful" Yuri commented making Karol smile.

"Thanks Yuri" the young man said, as he effortlessly lifted the other side with one arm, making Yuri blanch slightly.

"You really don't know your own strength do you Karol" Yuri joked as he walked backwards.

"Nope!" Karol joked before laughing. Obviously drunk on the pay they were receiving. "Let's hurry this is the last one" Karol said putting too much force into the box, nearly knocking Yuri over.

"You mean there are more of these things?" Yuri asked feeling genuinely surprised.

"Yeah twenty-four others" Karol said. "I should know I carried them myself" Karol claimed, and that's when the realisation hit him. "Damn that Raven" Karol groaned angrily as he grinded his teeth.

"Got tricked again?" Yuri asked sympathetically. "Well, it's both your faults, remember the saying, fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me" Yuri said just before they reached the Fiertia.

"I guess" Karol sighed as he felt Yuri's end slacken making Karol support the box all by himself. Then all of a sudden he felt a slap on his shoulder and a smiling Yuri.

"I am getting paid for this effort, Judith get's paid for flying, Raven get's paid too, so do you so... it's now being split four ways" Yuri said before laughing and walking towards the Fiertia, making Karol go bright red from anger.

"Damn you Yuri!" he screamed as Yuri ran away as quickly as he could with Repede at his side.

* * *

><p>(End of Chapter)<p>

Ok, just one more chapter of Yuri's side to go, and then we will return to Flynn's side of the story. I hope you caught onto some foreshadowing.

The fight was meant to be realistic, and not too easy for Yuri. There is a reason for this, also no Artes was so they didn't completely destroy the restaurant.

About Damuron, its canon, the part about being an Earl family is made up though.

Hope you enjoyed it everyone, thank you for reading.

-Aquilon


	5. Delivery

Changing the World isn't Easy Chapter Five

**Delivery**

As the Fiertia soared through the skies, Yuri found himself pondering over how he'd spend his share of the big earnings, but in the end couldn't figure anything out. After all Yuri was a traveller so most material goods were useless if he couldn't take it with him.

As the moon shone bright, Yuri lay back on the deck and just looked at the stars. "Hey Raven" the black-haired man called out to the eldest member of the guild.

"What is it kid?" Raven asked in mid-yawn, as Yuri had expected, old man Raven was still awake.

"Why would a magistrate with the power of the council ask a guild like us to ferry goods?" Yuri asked, feeling slightly suspicious of their employers. "I mean they could always use an empire boat and take the Heliord channel if they were in a rush, so why hire us?" Yuri asked.

"Quit being so paranoid will ya, it'll give ya wrinkles" Raven replied to the man. "It's a job aint it, no need to be complaining right?" Raven said gaining a small chuckle from Yuri in response.

"I guess" Yuri said as he shrugged his shoulders and allowed silence to take over once more, though it didn't last long. "Have you ever heard of a Michael Lexar?" Yuri then piped up, making Raven's eyebrow raise.

"Hmm let me think" Raven said as he got up into a cross-legged position. "If I remember correctly he's the son of the Grand-Duke in the council" Raven said as he scratched his beard. "Why'd ya ask?" Raven questioned curiously.

"No reason, I just had a small run in with the guy in Capua Nor, I'm sure he's nursing a broken nose... and ego by now" Yuri joked making Raven laugh out loudly.

"There you go again, gettin' into fights an' all, it's great ta' be young" Raven said as if he was reminiscing, though Yuri knew better. As there was nothing worth reminiscing about for Raven.

"Hah stop being sentimental old man" Yuri teased as he tipped his hat over his eyes.

"What, it wouldn't be me without a little whining, come on!" Raven complained upon deaf ears. When Raven realised Yuri had fallen asleep he smiled and looked up at the stars himself to see Brave Vesperia shining brightly.

"I wouldn't get involved with them too much if I was you Yuri, the House of Lexar is pretty scary if you get on the wrong side of them" Raven said in a monologue before pausing momentarily. "...Father" he finished before closing his eyes to try and get some sleep.

-Next day-

As the sun shone brightly in the sky, Yuri watched eagerly as Judith and Raven prepared to lay anchor. As the two dropped off the edge, Yuri was left disappointed when Raven landed acrobatically, in fact much more so than Yuri had in Capua Nor.

As Ba'ul set the Fiertia down, Yuri noticed Raven talking to some nobles, of whom he assumed were the recipients of the large cargo. As the Fiertia was finally set down, Yuri saw the nobles hand Raven a large sack which he assumed was their pay.

"Ok, Karol!" shouted Raven catching the young guild leaders attention.

"What?" Karol shouted back, half asleep to the person he considered a father figure.

"Get ready to unload each single crate, this man here said to set it down here. That means we don't have to do anything else!" Raven shouted to the young man who visibly sighed in relief, despite Karol's freakish strength, it didn't mean he didn't get tired out by it, as shown by his slouched posture.

"You don't know how glad I am to hear that" Karol said quietly making Yuri laugh. "I don't know why you're laughing Yuri" Karol said grouchily, "if you don't help, you get no pay" Karol said as he stomped off towards the cargo hold.

Yuri smirked as he watched the young leader walk away. "He's got me on that one" Yuri conceded, making Repede bark in agreement. "You want to help as well Repede?" Yuri asked sarcastically making the blue and white hound growl loudly, which was met with a small chuckle from Yuri.

"Ok then" Yuri said with a sigh. "You just wait here, I don't think we'll be in Heliord for long" Yuri told the dog as he walked to the cargo hold to assist his freakishly strong leader.

-A little later-

As the pair, who were as close as brothers worked their socks off unloading the crates, Judith and Raven watched on with mocking smiles. Karol being used to it merely shrugged it off, but Yuri who was often the antagonist, not the victim, didn't cope so well.

"Why does Judy always get off doing all this" Yuri complained to Karol, who genuinely had no answer to give. Judith just always disappeared whenever the job of heavy lifting came up.

"You'd expect a lady to do such a brutish job?" Judith asked sarcastically, a hand over her chest to show how 'offended' she was by Yuri's comment.

"When it comes down to brutality, you're the last person I know who can claim innocence" Yuri commented with a heavy pant as he placed another crate on the floor, sweat now dripping into his eyes from his long hair.

"Whatever do you mean by such a comment Yuri?" Judith asked the man, feigning hurt, however the smile she donned showed her obvious amusement at the light jab.

"Who knows?" Yuri responded, collapsing to the floor in the process. "No more, I've done my share" Yuri bowed out. He didn't possess the raw strength of Karol after all.

"Aw is that all you got kid?" Raven mocked from the side.

"Why don't you go help out then old man, I'm sure you'll be singing a different tune afterwards" Yuri said between pants as he wiped some sweat off his forehead.

"I can't, you see my heart just can't take it" Raven said as he pointed to his chest. Yuri wasn't sure if the man was being serious or not, after all he did have an artificial heart.

"That's just cheating" Yuri joked making Raven laugh a little.

"Yeah I guess, but you know what, that's life" Raven said in a half-philosophical, half mocking manner. Yuri would say some snide or demeaning comment, but he was too tired to care about Raven's momentary victory.

"Hey you guys" Karol called out angrily as he watched the three completely ignore work in favour of talking with each other. "Get back to work!" Karol ordered which made Yuri cough a little before getting to his feet. "You too Raven" Karol said with a glare making the old man get up and rush to the cargo hold.

"Wow you sure know how to handle them" an awestruck Judith commented with a smile as she clapped. Karol turned to Judith planning to make her work as well, but that notion was soon forgotten, after all he knew it was impossible to make her work by force.

"I'll just get back to work" Karol said sheepishly as he returned to the cargo hold, wondering how he was the most mature member of his guild, despite being the youngest.

-A little later-

Once the unloading was finished, a noble dressed in an elegant gown approached the Brave Vesperia leader, who'd along with Yuri, had removed his shirt due to the blistering heat.

"Thank you for delivering these goods so quickly" the noble said rather aggressively, seemingly insulted by Yuri and Karol's lack of clothing. "I don't know what might have happened if you weren't around" the noble said as he turned to some large men. "Take 'them' away" the noble said with a said with a sinister smile.

"'Them'?" Yuri questioned suspiciously making the nobleman chuckle dryly in response.

"The crates of course" the noble said in a condescending tone. "I never thought just because you were a commoner that you were uneducated, I guess I was wrong" the noble accused, making Yuri feel the sudden urge to break another person's nose.

"Well I guess I was wrong, I expected nobles to have some class after all" Yuri said as he put his hand forcefully on the man's shoulder. "Sucks to be us doesn't it" Yuri said rather mockingly, making the noble frown indignantly.

"Take that grubby hand off of me" the noble screeched making Yuri smile in delight as he removed his hand. "Now I'll have to get a new robe" the man said haughtily as he backed away from the black-haired commoner.

"Yuri let's just leave, we've been paid already" Karol suggested wisely.

"Fine" Yuri said, turning around and heading back to the Fiertia, feeling rather annoyed but at the same time proud, since he came out looking like the better person.

-A few hours later-

As the Fiertia flew high in the sky once more, Karol relayed instructions on where to go next to Judith.

"Halure first and then to Dahngrest is probably the best option. I want to have a small break in Dahngrest so we should head there last" Karol told the captain of the ship who nodded her approval.

"When do you want to be picked up next?" Judith asked the young leader. If it wasn't known by now, when no other Brave Vesperia members were on the ship, Judith would just set sail across the skies, sometimes returning to Myorzo. Freedom was her speciality after all.

"Hm" Karol thought for a small moment. "Can you pick me up in a week, I've got some spending to do and of course some negotiations with Harry" Karol said with a hint of a sigh. He preferred physical work, negotiating wasn't his thing, but he was the guild leader, so in Union discussions he was expected to take control.

"That whole master guild issue by any chance?" Judith asked as she telepathically communicated with Ba'ul, asking him to head to Halure.

"Yeah, we're a supporter of the Hunting Blades, so we have to get involved" Karol said with a sigh, things weren't easy for the guild leader.

Judith visibly frowned at the mention of the Hunting Blades. Having not forgotten the incident on Mt. Temza, Judith still held animosity towards the crazed monster hunters. However they were needed in the current world which needed monster extermination more than ever, so she accepted that having them become a master guild to increase their influence was important.

"As long as they leave Ba'ul alone I'm fine with them" Judith said with a small glare making Karol laugh awkwardly, in fear.

"Nan promised that Tyson promised Clint, who promised Nan that they would leave Ba'ul alone, didn't I already tell you?" Karol asked in a very complicated way.

"You can never be too careful of those guys" Judith voiced her suspicions before walking off, leaving Karol exasperated, as he knew that she would never give them the light of day, regardless of how much time had passed.

-A few more hours later-

It didn't take that long for Brave Vesperia to reach Halure, the City of Blossoms, due to a favourable tailwind. As the large Entelexeia hovered above the giant tree, which was once the protector of the settlement, Yuri and the gang looked over the railings to see a few children cheering.

As discussed over the course of the trip, Yuri had decided to stay behind in Halure for a while, whilst allowing Karol and Raven to get off at Dahngrest. "Just drop low enough for me to get off" Yuri told the beautiful Krityan who mock saluted him.

"Oi Karol" Yuri said holding his hand out expectantly, making the young teens brow crease slightly.

"Fine" whined Karol as he handed the black-haired man a sack, which contained exactly 75,000 Gald. After that he handed Yuri a small package. "Deliver that to the mayor, and don't try to swindle me, I expect half the pay from the job" Karol ordered his most talented 'subordinate'.

"Aye, aye captain" he joked as he stuffed the sack in his pocket, whilst tightly gripping the package. "Hey Judy" Yuri called out as he grabbed the rope. "Make sure to stop every once in a while, I may be at any town, and I don't want to end up chasing the ship so I can get on" Yuri told the Krityan who raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" she asked as she tapped her fingers lightly on her hip. "I'm sure you'll still be in Halure" the Krityan stated with a sly smile.

"Whatever" Yuri dismissed as Repede walked up to him. "Hey Repede, you remember how to do this right?" he asked the dog who'd already snatched up some rope between his jaws.

"Is he really going to be ok?" Karol asked, but Yuri waved off the young guild leaders fears.

"Of course he will be, it's Repede after all" Yuri stated as he hopped over the ledge, followed by Repede. When Karol ran over to see if they landed safely, all he spotted was two figures walking away.

"See you later Yuri" Karol shouted to the black haired man, who waved without turning around, with that Brave Vesperia headed back to Dahngrest.

-Moments Later-

Yuri's first job which was to deliver the package to the mayor was completed rather quickly, receiving a cheap payment of 5,000 Gald in the process, which paled significantly in comparison with his other pay, which was all his own.

Feeling satisfied with his easy payday, Yuri decided to visit Estelle at her home. Ever since their journey had ended, Estelle had become a successful writer of children's stories. Her bestselling novel Tales of Vesperia was like a sensationalised version of their already sensational journey. Ever since then Estelle had been living in Halure, working as a teacher at a local school and a part-time doctor when required.

In general, Estelle had become quite independent. The only person from the group she had constant contact with was Rita, who had also moved to Halure after the destruction of the City of Scholars Aspio. She said it was because she enjoyed the atmosphere of the town, but that was clearly a lie, after all Halure was quite the social hub, which contrasted with Rita's anti-social manner.

Rita, like Estelle worked as a teacher, except her field was magical sciences, despite the fact that magic was currently unusable to the majority of the population. Only people like Estelle who could use magic naturally were capable of using it. Her other job was a researcher and inventor, the last Yuri had heard, Rita had been close to creating a device similar to Bodhi Blastia, but he had no other knowledge on the subject.

Since Yuri knew the entirety of Halure like the back of his own hand, he found Estelle's home without any difficulty. The house itself was similar to the rest of the homes in Halure, wooden doors and surrounded by flowers.

Yuri steeled himself as he knocked at the door, bracing himself for the barrage of hugs that Estelle was bound to give out.

Moments later Estelle appeared at the door, wearing a blue, knee-length skirt and a simple white, spaghetti strapped blouse, much more 'common' than the outfits she wore on their journey. As she spotted the black-haired man, her green eyes lit up with joy and her arms became outstretched in an instant, before Yuri knew it she was enveloping him in an excited hug.

"Yuri!" she cried out in joy, making Yuri laugh slightly. As she giggled girlishly, she turned to Repede and tried to hug the dog, who quickly ignored her advances, walking away without even looking at her. "Aw, why doesn't he like me?" she said with a pout.

"I think you should give up on the mutt Estelle" a familiar voice called out from behind the girl.

"I thought you'd be here Rita" Yuri said with a smile. Rita now 18 years of age had slightly longer hair, her facial features had softened and become more mature, the most striking change was her chest, which was no longer miniscule.

Her choice of clothing was still outlandish though, and her personality hadn't really changed much, so basically it was just a bigger Rita. "Hey Yuri" she greeted kindly before smiling slightly. "I was wondering when you were going to show up" she said sounding slightly irritated before fingering her pocket and pulling out a small bracelet.

"Huh what's all this about?" Yuri asked curiously as Estelle guided him into the house and to the living room, making him sit down whilst she prepared some tea.

"It's something I've been working on" Rita claimed as she handed him the small bracelet, eyeing him carefully to see if he could guess what it was.

"This isn't that Bodhi Blastia you were working on is it?" Yuri asked curiously gaining a proud nod from the genius. "Wow Rita, that's actually pretty amazing" Yuri complimented, but to Rita it sounded like a smart-ass remark.

"Yeah well it's still a prototype; it works for me but..." Rita stopped trying to think of the best way to sound modest... "I'm a genius" she said, completely failing at the whole modesty attempt. "I need someone who isn't very good with magic to try it, so I guessed if you of all people could pull it off then it has passed the testing phase" Rita said as she finally sat herself down in front of him.

"I don't use magic though" Yuri said bluntly making the young adult scoff slightly.

"That's the entire point, I want you to test it out for me" Rita told the man, not even attempting to be polite.

"Rita, how long have you been waiting for me to arrive just so you can use me as a guinea pig?" Yuri asked as he removed his black hat.

"About three days I guess" Rita stated as Estelle came into the living room with the tea whilst humming happily, placing it on the table before seating herself right next to Yuri.

"Five actually" Estelle answered, smiling slightly at Rita's embarrassment. "She's been waiting all this time for you to come back Yuri. Can you at least do this for her?" Estelle asked in a begging like tone which made it nearly impossible for the man to refuse.

"I guess, but I don't really want to learn magic" Yuri said defiantly, before a book hit him hard in the face.

"Magic is very useful, especially for someone like you who's always getting into fights" Rita said angrily making the young princess laugh before leaning on Yuri's side a little.

"How did this become a 'let's pick on Yuri' event?" the man joked, making the princess fall silent, and the genius smirk.

"If you just agree to learn magic we can go back to drinking tea" Rita offered the man who sighed.

"Fine, fine" Yuri said. "I'll do it, it's not like I'm losing anything from this" Yuri conceded as he put on the Blastia.

"So, Yuri how long are you going to be in Halure for?" Estelle asked with hopeful eyes, when he informed her he'd be there for at least a week she was overcome with joy.

As the group drank there tea, Yuri leaned back and looked up at the ceiling. _"Sometimes peaceful times aren't so bad" _he thought as the start of his long week was about to begin.

* * *

><p>(End Chapter – Yuri Side End)<p>

Ok this is the end of Yuri's side for now, next chapter will be an interlude and then Flynn's side. I know this chapter wasn't very interesting but it was a necessary chapter for build-up and character introductions.

Thank you for all the reviews, favourites, and alerts, and the kind messages from AngelWithACrookedHalo.

Yes I know the end was rushed but there wasn't much else I could include lol.

Next chapter – things get serious :D by the way has anyone realised, writing fanfiction with a massive hangover really isn't effective?

-Aquilon


	6. Captives

Changing the World isn't Easy Chapter Six – Flynn Side Start

I love the attention I am garnering from this fiction, please continue haha (jokes).

**Captives**

As twenty-five heavy crates were placed on the basement floor, a large cackle was let out. "Stupid commoners, I knew it would be the right thing to ask them to deliver their own kind right into my hands" the arrogant noble who'd dealt with Brave Vesperia said sinisterly.

This man was Augustus Léron, the magistrate of Heliord. His hatred towards the poor wasn't due to any grudge. It was a natured trait that his family had drummed into him from a young age. Commoners were worthless, they were beneath him, they didn't deserve to breathe his air. All this culminated into a twisted desire to torture those less fortunate than him.

Despite this he was not the grand orchestrator of this plot, he was just a pawn, but that didn't matter, as long as he could dish out some of his own brand of hatred. "Men open the crates!" he ordered loudly, making the guards shout "yes sir!" in unison.

Going at the crates with crowbars it didn't take long to remove the lids. Inside of which were two people, since the proportion of the captives was one child for every two adults, most of the crates were crammed, only few of them had moving space. Those who were put in a crate with a child could be considered lucky, but that would only be a small consolation.

Each captive was bound at the legs, eyes, mouth, arms, in general all the limbs were constricted, sight was impossible and speech too was rendered impossible. The sight of commoners laying prone in front of him, completely at his mercy made an exquisite chill run up Augustus' spine.

Licking his lips gently, as if savouring the taste, the sadistic noble crouched down and pocked the exposed stomach of one of the female captives. "Interesting" the noble said before stamping on the woman's stomach who tried to let out a cry of agony, but the bondage prevented it. Tears escaped her eyes and dripped slowly under the binds covering her eyes.

The disgusting noble saw this as a sexually arousing act and crouched down to capture some of the tears in his hand. "Strange, for a mongrel, your tears are similar to our own" the man said with a hint of anger, kicking her once more before walking away from her.

"Take them to the chamber, strap them down to the tables" Augustus ordered the men who nodded in agreement, quickly picking them up one by one. "One thing though" the noble said with a hint of menace in his tone.

"What is it sir?" they asked in unison once more, as if they were trained only to obey.

"Once you strap them down, remove the eye and mouth bindings, I want to see it all" he told the men who once again resounded "yes sir!" before taking the captives to the chamber. "Oh how delightful" Augustus said excitedly as he followed closely behind the men.

-Elsewhere- A few days later -

Flynn was becoming increasingly worried. No discoveries or clues had been uncovered in the space of a five day investigation. Yet he wasn't losing hope, he knew something would come up.

As he studied a map which was placed on a table in the centre of the room, Flynn heard that oh so memorable knock. "Come in Sodia" Flynn said quickly without straying his concentration from the map. "Hm if they aren't in Zaphias what route could they have taken?" Flynn murmured to himself as Sodia walked to his side.

"Sir, I have news on Yuri Lowell" Sodia said with the hint of a growl, which was peculiar for Sodia, even though Flynn knew she hated Yuri he didn't think the mere mentioning of his name would gain such a response.

Flynn deciding it was probably important groaned slightly and turned to Sodia. "What did he do this time Sodia?" Flynn asked in a dejected manner, placing his pen on the table in the process.

"Word has it that he destroyed a restaurant in Capua Nor and broke Captain Michael's nose" Sodia said with the hint of a smile she never liked Michael much. "Apparently the captain asked for a fight and they got a little carried away" Sodia informed the man who was looking increasingly stressed.

"He's not in jail again is he?" Flynn asked the woman who shook her head. "Then let's just ignore him for now. Right now we have more important matters to attend to, correct?" Flynn told the woman who nodded her agreement as she too looked at the map.

"If you don't mind sir, what exactly are you doing?" Sodia asked curiously, her purple eyes searching his deep blue to find that strength that she had always admired. When she found it in his steely gaze a smile appeared on her face.

"You said they weren't in Zaphias anymore, so I was trying to work out where they could have gone" he told his subordinate who nodded her understanding. "However as you know, Zaphias is surrounded by steep hills, the port can only be used by the military and Deidon Hold is a fortress under our control" Flynn said as he motioned the points with his pen.

"Now they could have taken the Quoi Woods, but that seems highly improbable. After all, we haven't done anything to clear the way of monsters, so if they cared about the survival of their captives they wouldn't take that route" Flynn said as his brow creased.

"So as you can see I am going around in circles" Flynn said helplessly getting a stern glance by Sodia.

"Don't say that sir, you're doing the best you can under the circumstances" Sodia half consoled him making the man smile, albeit only briefly.

As they continued to stare at the map, Sodia suddenly had an idea.

"Sir, Deidon Hold is a fortress correct?" Sodia asked the man who nodded.

"What are you getting at Sodia?" Flynn asked curiously, motioning for his subordinate to continue.

"Well remember a few years back, Yuri Lowell and Princess Estellise were in Deidon Hold and weren't spotted. Also if the kidnappers had a carriage and a license for trade the knights wouldn't even bat an eyelid" Sodia informed the man whose complexion seemed to brighten almost instantly.

"So you're saying they passed through the hold?" Flynn asked as he circled the location on the map. "Where do you think they would have gone from there?" Flynn asked the woman who squinted slightly and pointed towards Old Aspio.

"This is physically impossible, the rock slides that occurred when that tower appeared made the area impassable to carriages" Sodia informed the man who nodded and crossed out north-eastern Ilyccia. "That Blade Drifts of Zopheir is definitely a no go, too many monsters and it would be impossible to cross without combat experience, a carriage would be destroyed in an instant" Sodia informed bringing another smile to Flynn's face.

"You're on a roll Sodia, care to continue?" Flynn asked the woman as he opened her hand with his own, placing the pen in it.

Sodia feeling full of pride at this moment looked to the side to shelter a small blush before composing herself.

Scanning the map once more her eyes fell on Halure. "Halure would be the worse place to stop, the population is primarily commoners. They'd instantly notice some of their own" Sodia reasoned making Flynn nod.

"Princess Estellise is there as well, along with Miss Mordio, they'd definitely spot something" Flynn contributed making Sodia nod.

"So Halure is out of the question" Sodia said putting a cross through the town, and then a question mark next to it. "The question mark is because even if they didn't stop there, someone may have gotten supplies" Sodia told her superior who nodded.

"Good thinking Sodia" Flynn complimented, slightly in awe at her skill to analyse the situation. He guessed his ability to think was being hampered by worry, but for someone like Sodia, that wouldn't be a problem.

"Thank you sir" Sodia replied before focusing on the map more, leaning over the table to reach the next point. "Sir, I believe they would pass through Ehmead Hill" Sodia told the man who gave her a look that said 'explain why' making Sodia feel the thrill of investigating once more.

"Well, recently the empire unblocked Ehmead Hill, with nowhere to go other than west, I'm sure they'd take Ehmead Hill" she said circling the spot on the map. "Which leaves just one place they could have went" Sodia concluded pointing to Capua Nor.

"Capua Nor?" Flynn gasped slightly. "Isn't that where Captain Michael is?" Flynn asked his subordinate who nodded.

"Yes but I highly doubt Captain Michael is involved in this, but that doesn't mean we can ignore the possibility" Sodia told the man who nodded.

"I think the best course of action would be going to Capua Nor. Yet we can't leave Zaphias without permission from his Highness, or without any captain guarding it for that matter" Flynn said sounding slightly annoyed.

"We could always ask his Highness, I'm sure he'd understand" Sodia told her captain who waved off the suggestion.

"No, just because I am worried does not mean I'll leave the capital in danger" Flynn told the woman who felt even more admiration for the man.

"Sir, we can always send for First Captain Schwann" Sodia said with a hint of hope.

"He's usually with his guild though" Flynn informed the woman who smiled at him. "You know something that I don't Sodia?" Flynn asked in a joking manner making her nod.

"First Captain Schwann returns monthly, I always get an earful from that annoying Lieutenant Le Blanc about it" Sodia said with a small smile, which Flynn caught onto.

"When is the date of his arrival?" Flynn asked his lieutenant who smiled.

"Approximately five days from now" Sodia told the man, who felt slightly downtrodden by the news but it was better than nothing. "Sorry it's not sooner sir" the woman apologised for the First Captain making Flynn chuckle slightly.

"How many times do I need to tell you? Stop apologising" Flynn 'ordered'. "In fact, I should be apologising to you, having you do all my work" Flynn joked making Sodia raise her hands defensively.

"Oh no, it's no problem sir" she defended making Flynn laugh again.

"In any case" Flynn said, changing the conversation. "We have a lead, we'll set out for Capua Nor in five days to see what we can find" Flynn told the woman who smiled.

"Yes sir!" Sodia said with a salute.

"Thank you Sodia" Flynn said gratefully, as he rolled the map up gently and put it into his drawer.

-Elsewhere-

Fifty individuals lay strapped to tables, each one screaming for help, not understanding why no-one had come to save them yet. Each single person was clotheless, stripped bare as if to show everything to their captors, as if they deserved no secrets.

Tears ran down their faces and that only served to make Augustus more excited. With his body guards at his side he felt no fear, at the same time he lacked any pity. He had taken a slight liking to the captives, they were truly perfect, they cried, the screamed, begged, yes indeed perfect captives for someone of his sadistic nature.

It saddened him that they would have to part so soon. "Men, the injections if you will" Augustus ordered, as each one saluted, carrying a syringe each, they approached the bound women and children. "Don't worry, you're only going to be going to sleep for a long time" Augustus told them, but it was meant to instigate fear, not comfort.

Some kicked their legs as much as they could, and some sat passively, already giving into their fate. The only thing that they shared was the fact that they were injected with a mind numbing drug, that would eventually make them become passive, obedient and thoughtless.

"It's such a shame" the magistrate said sarcastically, eyeing the woman he'd already stamped on once before. This one was his favourite, he just loved her cries. To him they were like sweet whispers to his ears. "Maybe I'll buy that one" he mused out loud, as the screams subsided, leaving nothing behind but emotionless dolls.

"Sir, it's finished" each one said in unison once more, making the magistrate nod.

"Good, pack them away and send them to the event hall" the magistrate ordered, gaining a chorus of yes sirs from the guards as they picked up the captives and took them away, getting them ready for the 'festivities' that the night would bring.

-Later that night-

"Welcome, ladies, gentlemen, nobleman, noblewoman" said an auctioneer in an excited tone, purposely trying to get the crowd excited. "Are you ready, there are some fantastic goods for sale here today, I'm sure you'll all be satisfied" he said with a grin, making a few nobles laugh and one particular captain clap slightly.

"Well, let's get on with the show, the first one is known as #01" he said as a young woman dressed in what seemed to be rags was brought onto the stage. She had short brown hair and possessed matching brown eyes which were faded due to their lifelessness. Her face showed no emotion, highlighting the effectiveness of the quick acting drug. A few noblemen cheered at the sight.

"Now the bidding will start at 50,000 Gald, is anyone interested?" the auctioneer said excitedly with a sinister smile.

"50,000" a man with a top hat said instantly.

"I have 50,000, can anyone offer 70,000?" the auctioneer said quickly, this man was a professional.

"75,000" a man with a moustache said with a thick upper class Zaphian accent.

"I have 75,000, anyone else?" the auctioneer asked, but no-one raised a hand, after all she wasn't the best looking woman around, that's why she was put out first.

"Sold to the gentleman for 75,000 Gald" the auctioneer said to the rapture of applause.

It was to be the first purchase of a very long and profitable night for all those involved.

* * *

><p>(End Chapter)<p>

Wow you will not believe how quickly I wrote this chapter, it may have been rather short but I hope it left an impression, some of you may find it dubious but I don't particularly mind. As you can see they were kidnapped to be sold as slaves to nobleman, how will Flynn solve this I wonder?

Thank you for all the reviews, and messages that I have been receiving, they are great in supporting me and getting me to write.

Just a quick warning, updates may be slower by a day soon, because I need to study for my university exams in January, but if things go to plan and I'm as motivated as this, I may still continue my fast update schedule.

Thanks for reading once again.

-Aquilon


	7. Nor Murder

Changing the World isn't Easy Chapter Seven

I love writing this fiction, and with the support I get, I love writing it even more :D

**Nor Murder**

With the success of the auction in Heliord, the newly sold slaves, sex dolls, whatever their owners planned for them, were shipped off to Capua Nor after ferrying them across the port from Torim Harbour.

The plan from then on was to use knight ships under the control of one Captain Michael Lexar to ferry the slaves to Zaphias, where they would be delivered to their new owners. This was done as a safety procedure for the buyers, who'd obviously look suspicious if they entered Zaphias with a slave at their side.

As the slaves were piled onto Lexar's ship, under his watchful green eyes he smirked. Having been one of the orchestrators of the entire capture, he made sure he was going to be the one to finish the job. Being heavily sedated the slaves walked on, one by one, obedient and submissive onto the ship, little did Michael know that he was being watched the entire time.

From the other side of the harbour, a lone knight who was part of the normal Nor Harbour city guard watched on, eyes wide with confusion. This man was not affiliated with Lexar's brigade, instead he was part of Flynn's brigade, which mainly worked as city guards instead of being one collective unit, this was due to the fact that their captain was now the Commandant, so he could no longer lead them around.

"What the hell is this?" he whispered to himself in disbelief, his armour clanking slightly as he moved closer, hiding his frame behind a pile of crates carefully.

The slaves wore little more than rags which had their identification number painted on, their legs were shackled together and their eyes were soulless. It scared the knight, who unconsciously shook in fear and anger.

As he looked at the red-haired captain his blood went cold. The smile on the man's face made him want to throw up. He had always respected Captain Michael, and had a nice discussion with him only the day before. He found it strange how Captain Michael was deployed to stop the late night assaults, when to his knowledge nothing of the sort had occurred in Capua Nor since Ragou had disappeared years back.

However he ignored it, basking in Captain Michaels 'warm' personality, but he discovered now that it was a lie. How did he get deployed here? How is he doing this? Why is he doing this? All such questions ran through the frightened knight's mind as he watched on, powerless.

"I have to go and tell command about this" the knight whispered to himself, clenching his fist tight to install some courage into himself.

As he got ready to slowly escape, he noticed that Captain Michael was no longer looking at the slaves, and instead staring right at him with a small smirk on his face, he noticed the man say something, but he was too far away to hear it.

The captain's gaze had him frozen to the spot, he felt as if he'd die if he moved, but he also knew somewhere inside him that if he didn't move he'd die. "Move damn it!" he ordered his legs in a strained voice, still trying to keep quiet. "Move, move, move, move!" the knight said in a panic, and as if responding to his command, they moved.

The man broke away, and started to run, but he was soon stopped by an unseen force. It felt as if he was being crushed, he couldn't move forward, something was rooting him to the spot. His mind began to think irrationally, images of his childhood, images of his girlfriend who he was planning to ask to marry him and finally the constant thought of why can't I move?

As he thought, a man wearing a Lieutenant's uniform slowly approached him from in front, his momentary relief quickly became despair when he realised that the person's uniform was of the same colour as Captain Michael.

"This'll do very nicely" the silhouetted man said coldly. "Someone delivered himself to my lord to save him the hassle, you have my gratitude" the man said as he finally revealed himself clearly by standing under one of the street lanterns.

His one visible eye was black in colour. The other was obscured by long brown hair, which was tied back in a scruffy pony-tail. His cold expression showed no sympathy for the frightened knight. His expression was hidden under his cape which he wore lopsided, hanging over the shoulder instead of the back. The knight knew this man very well.

His name was Felix de Vart Captain Michael's Lieutenant and servant to the House of Lexar. He was known as a prodigy who had refused promotion countless of times, to remain under his captain's command.

"W-what are you talking about?" the knight stuttered, still unable to move from his spot as the lieutenant approached him slowly, hand on the hilt of his sword whilst the other was on the sheath. The knight's arms began to shake violently, but his legs remained still. "Why can't I move?" he cried out to the uninterested lieutenant.

"That would be my lord's doing" Felix answered him. "You are going to serve as a convenient distraction for my lord, feel proud" Felix said in his usual cold tone.

The thing that confused the knight more wasn't the fact that he was going to serve as a distraction, but why he heard Felix say that from behind him; surely Felix was supposed to be in front of him he thought. At that his eyes widened as blood erupted from his large wound, which connected his right hip to his left shoulder.

As the man collapsed onto his chest, he found that he could move again, he turned his head to see Felix's back, it was so confusing. "W-why?" he sputtered as his consciousness was beginning to fade, tears escaped his eyes, his memories flashed in front of his eyes again before they closed, never to open again.

"Why?" the lieutenant answered the dead body, "because my lord wanted it so" he said coldly as he walked toward the dock.

A few minutes later

"I have returned" the lieutenant said in his normal cold tone, but this time it wasn't due to apathy, it was just down to the fact that he couldn't express himself well.

"Very good Felix, I knew I could count on you" the red-haired captain said with a grin, making Felix bow respectfully for him.

"It was my pleasure my lord" Felix replied, making the captain grin happily. Felix had served as his personal attendant since childhood and was one of the only people in the entire world that Michael could trust.

"You know what to do next right?" Michael asked the man who nodded.

"I'll go to Zaphias and inform Commandant Flynn Scifo of the incident, whilst your lordship hangs around the waters near Zaphias, after four days I'll reach Zaphias and inform the Commandant, when he leaves the capital you enter with the merchandise" Felix said, recalling the plan from memory gaining a pat on the back from his captain.

"Exactly so, now of you go Felix" the captain ordered the man who bowed and left the ship, ready to fulfil his lords every order.

Four days later

Flynn sat impatiently in his office, Raven as First Captain Schwann was due to arrive any minute according to his faithful subordinate Sodia. However, the wait was frustratingly long, like watching a kettle boil, it just seemed to take forever.

As mid-day arrived, Sodia came knocking at his office door like usual and for once Flynn was disappointed it was her. "Come in Sodia" Flynn said tiredly.

As Sodia came into the room, Flynn lifted his head to spy two individuals standing behind her, one of which was who he'd been waiting for, the other was a person he was rather unfamiliar with, but he knew of him.

"Sir, I brought First Captain Schwann as you requested" Sodia said with a salute before turning to the other visitor. "Lieutenant Felix de Vart is also here to see you, he said it was urgent" Sodia informed with a suspicious look on her face.

"Right, good work Sodia" Flynn said with a smile making her expression soften slightly before she joined him at his side like any loyal and professional adjutant would do.

Flynn looked at the two men who saluted him. Though Schwann's was slightly slacked Flynn didn't see it necessary to pick at it. "First Captain Schwann I assume Lieutenant Sodia has informed you of the situation" Flynn asked the man who sighed dramatically, accidently slipping into his Raven persona.

"Aye sir" Schwann said tiredly making Sodia glare slightly, Flynn spotting this chuckled slightly.

"Then since you know the severity of the situation I assume that you'll accept my request?" Flynn asked politely after all he wasn't about to order the man to look after the capital.

"Yes sir" he replied before looking to the side to spy Captain Michael's lieutenant, smirking slightly at the man's effeminate face.

Despite this laid back attitude that Schwann was putting on, he was actually deeply concerned about the whole incident and planned on doing some investigating whilst he was in Zaphias.

"Thank you" Flynn said gratefully as he turned to the second visitor. "Lieutenant de Vart" Flynn addressed, making the man stand at alert.

"Yes sir?" he replied in monotone, voice still cold, but Flynn ignored it. He'd heard of this man, the person who was said to be stronger than Captain Michael but refused promotions under Alexei's rule and his own.

"There was some urgent news you had to tell me?" Flynn questioned, eyebrows raised suspiciously.

"Yes, his lor- I mean Captain Michael sent me to deliver a message" the lieutenant started, waiting for Flynn to signal him to continue. "You see, whilst on patrol, we found a knight that had been attacked sir, with his last breath he told us that his attacker was the same one who'd been responsible for the assaults that had been plaguing the town" Felix lied expertly.

"Apparently he was chasing the suspect but the man got the drop on him, when we reached him he was dying, with his last breaths he told us that he was going towards the port so the Captain gave chase, he told me to relay the message to Zaphias" Felix told the Commandant whose eyes were wide with shock.

"Captain Michael should have apprehended the suspect by now, but I'm afraid that this is part of something much bigger, or so the Captain said" Felix claimed, his lying ability was excellent. "He asked if someone could personally assist Capua Nor whilst he captured the culprit and brought him back to Zaphias" Felix finished, saluting after 'relaying' the message.

Flynn bought into this, the fact that the words 'something much bigger' came into play made Flynn instantly think of the missing persons, especially since Sodia believed it was highly likely they went to Capua Nor.

"Thank you for informing me Lieutenant de Vart" Flynn said gratefully, not noticing the suspicious glares from both Sodia and First Captain Schwann. "I'll see to it that I investigate it personally" Flynn told the man who nodded.

"That would be much appreciated sir" Felix replied as he bowed.

"You are excused Lieutenant" he informed the man who left straight away. After he had left Flynn turned to the two people in the room. "What's with the stares?" Flynn asked gaining a sigh from the First Captain.

"Sir" Sodia called out catching his attention.

"Yes Sodia?" he questioned curiously.

"You don't honestly believe him do you?" Sodia asked in disbelief making the young Commandant laugh slightly.

"Not completely" Flynn informed. "However there is one grain of truth in what he said" Flynn informed the woman who gave him a questioning stare. This however was easily understood by Schwann who knew what Flynn was talking about.

"Something big is surrounding Capua Nor, and I believe that Capua Nor is the key to solving this case" Flynn informed them making Schwann grin.

"You're a sharp young'un aren't you Commandant" Schwann complimented the man, gaining another glare from Sodia for his disrespectful attitude.

"I do my best" Flynn played along, before turning to his adjutant. "Sodia, prepare for the trip, we'll be leaving for Capua Nor in three hours" Flynn said in a commanding tone making her salute and smile.

"Yes sir" she replied, leaving the room.

"That's a feisty one you got there" Schwann quipped when he knew Sodia was out of hearing distance.

"Yeah, but I couldn't ask for anyone more honest, loyal and hardworking." Flynn said with a genuine smile creeping onto his face. "She makes my job so much easier" Flynn said making the old knight smile slightly.

"Yeah, she aint too bad on the eye I guess" Schwann commented as he brought a hand up to his chin, Flynn eyed him as if saying 'that's not what I meant' making the old man laugh again. "Calm down loverboy" Schwann lightly mocked his superior.

"Aren't you supposed to be more serious when you're Schwann?" Flynn asked, seemingly unfazed by Schwann's mocks, however underneath that cool exterior he was actually feeling the heat.

"I guess" Schwann said with a shrug. "Don't you think you should get ready as well, I'll take over from here" Schwann offered the Commandant who got to his feet.

"Thanks again" Flynn told the man who smiled.

"Whatever, get going will ya" Schwann said making the Commandant smile appreciatively before leaving.

Now all alone in the room Schwann walked over to the chair and sat down, thoughts of Lexar's Lieutenant running through his mind, "I know him, but where from?" he asked himself as he closed his eyes to take a little nap.

That night

As night fell on the capital the red haired captain entered the city from the Royal Quarter. At the gates were his own men who saluted him with knowing smiles on their faces as they spied the shackled slaves behind him.

"Is anyone around?" Michael asked the men who shook their heads in unison.

"No sir, the Royal Quarter is silent, only members of our esteemed Michael Brigade are here" one said to the Captain who smiled at his loyal men.

"Then let's deliver these _things_ to their rightful owners" Michael said gaining a chorus of 'yes sirs' in return.

Hours later

Michael had just finished delivering the last slave to their owner, all that was left was the ones they couldn't sell, but that didn't matter, he had plans for them.

With his job complete he decided to head back to his manor, with the leftovers in toll. Looking up to the starry sky a grin found its way onto his handsome face as he pictured Flynn arriving in Capua Nor finding nothing.

"Unlucky, Commandant, I hope this teaches you that no matter how hard you try, you are destined to lose to those of better lineage" he said feeling victorious as he stood in front of his family home, ready to bask in the feeling of success and superiority.

* * *

><p><span>End of Chapter<span>

And so it BEGINS ;p

So I assume that most of you picked up that it was Michael Lexar at the auction in the last chapter, I did mention a captain, but I bet you didn't think he was one of the orchestrators. Felix is very important, in fact he has a deep relationship with Raven, who has a deep role in this story later on.

What Michael doesn't know is that the trail isn't dead in Capua Nor.

Sorry for the long time to wait for an update I hope you enjoyed.

-Aquilon.


	8. Investigations

Changing the World isn't Easy Chapter Eight

So, what's up everyone, have a good new year? No reviews left me disappointed but I'll live :D

**Investigations**

The trip from Zaphias to Nor Harbour took two days for the Commandant and his most trusted officer. Instead of taking the safe route which involved trips through Deidon Hold and potential stops at Halure, the pair took the dangerous and so called haunted Quoi Woods to skip out a large portion of the journey.

From there the pair took the safe route through Ehmead Hill instead of taking the time consuming forest path. When they finally reached Capua Nor they were tired and rightly so, having stopped for sleep only once, separate tents of course. This didn't bother the two knights who were experienced at long distance travelling from their adventures when the Commandant was still a Lieutenant.

The first course of the action for the pair was to find lodgings. They both had conflicting ideas, Sodia said it would be better if they lodged at the knights headquarters, where there was sure to be a few old cots to sleep in.

Flynn had other ideas. He decided that instead of staying at the headquarters that he'd stay at the local inn. He knew it cost more, but he reasoned that getting a good night's sleep would give them more time to investigate. It wasn't logical in the slightest, but Sodia decided to go along with it.

Booking didn't take long, or at least it wouldn't have if Sodia hadn't lost her temper at the receptionist, who teased them to no end, asking them if they were having a romantic getaway. After nearly five minutes of Sodia vehemently denying his claims, the receptionist finally booked two rooms for them and the two set off towards the crime scene.

As they headed over the large bridge which led to the magistrate's estate, they noticed that there was a small barricade which had a sign next to it.

"Entry forbidden to public" Sodia read out loud before briskly weaving under the barricade and heading to the estate, closely followed by Flynn who raised an eyebrow at her no-nonsense attitude, it was a part of her that he liked, even if it did annoy a large majority of people.

"So according to Lieutenant de Vart, the murder occurred at the docks behind the magistrate's estate correct?" Flynn asked his adjutant who nodded to his question. "Aren't the docks supposed to be closed to all but high ranking nobles and the knights at night though?"

"That's why I don't believe the Lieutenant" Sodia said in a straightforward manner as Flynn stepped into stride with her. "Why would the 'culprit' run to the docks, when he or she could have fled town, the terrain would make capture much harder, especially at night" Sodia mentioned making Flynn chuckle. "Something funny sir?" she asked curiously, slightly apprehensive that she said something wrong.

"No, you just noted all my suspicions in one concise argument. Though we may just be paranoid, maybe some noble was playing vigilante, it has happened in the past" Flynn mused, referring to Clay, the red haired dark enforcer.

"Well I suppose" Sodia murmured, but Flynn knew she wasn't buying it, and even though Flynn didn't believe it either, he still refused to believe that Captain Michael was involved.

With that silence took over, and the two spotted two security guards at the magistrate's estate entrance. "Flynn Scifo Commandant of the Imperial Knights" Flynn introduced himself to a guard who raised an eyebrow and pointed his thumb in the direction of the docks.

"Go on through, Captain Michael has already informed the magistrate that you'd be arriving, he's taking one of the suspects to Zaphias, the crime scene is all yours" the guard said rudely, Sodia was about to verbally attack him until Flynn put a hand up to silence her.

"Thank you" Flynn replied and walked past, he knew or at least assumed the man wasn't trying to be rude, it was just part of the job. Sodia followed in suit, and walked a few steps behind him, seething about the guard's rudeness.

"Calm down Sodia" said in a calm tone, it wasn't an order, more like a gentle suggestion.

She tried to calm down but her hot headedness when irritated made it a taxing task. She was the type of person to replay incidents in her mind over and over, with the incident changing ever so slightly each time until she thought something much worse had actually occurred.

"I'll try" was all Sodia said, she'd already been annoyed twice so it would be quite the challenge.

"That's all I can ask for" Flynn replied as he arrived at the scene of the crime.

Since near enough a week had already passed, the crime scene had already been swept of evidence. All that remained was a small outline of the body and bloodstains. The head was pointed in the direction of the town, whilst the legs pointed to the dock.

"Sodia... now I know it's highly possible that the victim had moved before dying" Flynn said with a raised eyebrow. "However why is the outline of his body pointing towards town, he was chasing the culprit right?" Flynn asked making Sodia nod.

"Yes, but I'd say that's highly circumstantial" Sodia said calmly. "I wouldn't say it's impossible though, we can always ask headquarters how the victim died and so forth" Sodia said, "I'm sure that would help assert some claims, but not many" Sodia said flatly.

"Yeah your right" Flynn said as a wry smile adorned his face. "Crime scene investigator Sodia!" he joked, chuckling slightly before making a serious expression, which Sodia noticed instantly.

"Sodia you head to headquarters, I'll ask around town for any rumours, the Lieutenant said this might be part of something bigger after all" Flynn said making Sodia salute him.

"Yes sir" she replied reluctantly before leaving the crime scene.

"Now then time to ask around" Flynn said to himself also leaving the crime scene, unaware that he was being watched by someone from the window of the magistrate's estate.

Back in Zaphias

Being the protector of a city wasn't what Raven who was currently using his persona as Schwann would refer to as fun. Let alone it being the Imperial Capital which meant the job was even harder. He briefly wondered how someone as young as Flynn found the job so easy, he secretly believed that even the young adult found it a hard task.

What was most frustrating for the notorious womanizer, who had the girls of Dahngrest eating out of his hand, and could easily go further if he wasn't as he called himself 'such a gentleman', was the fact that his most loyal followers expressed their pride in every way imaginable that the great Schwann was acting in the role of a temporary Commandant.

"I say sir Schwann, that seat looks like it was designed to be used by you!" the thick lipped Adecor complimented, in reference to the commandant's chair. This comment made his 'illustrious' leader's eye twitch.

"Hey I was about to say that!" the chubby Boccos whined annoyingly to the lanky knight, sparking off another row, which was commonplace amongst the ranks of the Schwann Brigade.

"Guys cut it out" Raven sighed in exasperation, tired of the constant bickering. He briefly wondered why he didn't have single prominent female in his brigade, right now he'd kill to have one instead of the two annoying men, even if they were loyal to a fault.

"Yes Sir Schwann!" they said enthusiastically, hand over their chests.

"Good" Raven muttered, when an idea hit him. "Men, I want you to find Lieutenant Le Blanc and bring him to me" he ordered his men, before adding "it's of the upmost importance" to make it seem serious.

"Sir yes Sir Schwann..." they said in unison with confused looks, it didn't sound right after all, before they tried to correct themselves, Raven ordered them to go, which they gladly did, for the honour of the Schwann Brigade and all that nonsense.

Once out of sight, Raven decided that a rest was in order, quickly opening the window of the office and climbing out, it was at moments like this that he was glad the office was on the bottom floor.

"Ah that's better" he said with a refreshed tone, before it turned slightly bitter. "I might as well get it out of the way" he commented dully and walked towards the Lower Quarter.

The trip didn't take long, he didn't draw too much attention either as he was trying his best to avoid being seen by any members of his brigade. He of course, in regular Raven fashion appraised a few women with his eyes gaining a few sly smiles in return. After all to them he was Captain Schwann, a gentleman known for his chivalric attitude and his abundant generosity and kindness.

No-one suspected that he was also the lazy member of Brave Vesperia which was just a small portion of his true personality, that of the man born Damuron Atomais. Schwann and Raven were just two separate pieces of his true self, though ever since being free from Alexei his Raven persona was adopting parts of his Schwann persona and vice-versa.

As he reached the lower quarter he set his sights for the small, nearly deserted cemetery, which was full of overgrown weeds and grass, and inexpensive tombstones, except for one which was made of solid black marble, the very same grave that he was visiting.

As he entered the cemetery he noticed someone standing in front of the grave he was visiting. The person was the Lieutenant from the day prior, Felix de Vart. The sight of the man put Raven on alert, but that didn't dissuade him from walking over to the grave.

"Here lies Maximillion Atomais" Raven recited, making the lieutenant flinch before turning around looking like he was going to attack. "Hey this is a cemetery, calm down" Raven said in an angered tone, the man reluctantly nodded and looked back at the grave.

"Why are you here?" Felix the first to start asked, voice still cold and monotonous.

"Well for one this is my old man" Raven admitted. "Thought I'd say hi, even if he doesn't particularly deserve it" Raven said honestly, "you?" he asked deflecting the question.

"I don't know" Felix replied, it may have been in monotone, and Raven may not have trusted the guy, but he believed him. "Sometimes I find myself visiting here" Felix continued. Raven assumed this was the reason why the black marble looked polished.

The two returned to silence, Raven never taking his eye off the lieutenant, whose lower face was still hidden by his odd cape. "Hey have we met before?" he asked curiously, but the man didn't reply back.

"I best be going, my lord doesn't like me wandering around too much... until next time we meet D-" he said as he walked away, Raven swore he heard something after until next time we meet, but he shrugged it off.

"What a strange guy" he muttered, turning back to the grave. "Well you old bastard I think I'll be going too" Raven said in a half-joking way to the tombstone, examining it carefully with an inkling of regret in his eyes. "Don't worry I'm sure mother is fine" Raven assured the stone as if he was asked a question before walking away.

Back at Capua Nor

Whilst Sodia gathered information from their fellow knights, Flynn took to the streets, asking passerby's about the incident. Each one replied in a way which was unexpected to Flynn and at the same time mad him extremely serious.

"It's strange it's been peaceful for so long ever since Ragou disappeared, but then for this to happen it's devastating" just one of the many people Flynn had interviewed said, sounding quite scared.

"Late night attacks are peaceful?" Flynn asked the woman who slapped him on the arm playfully.

"What are you talking about? This is the first incident in years. I never thought you'd be such a joker Commandant" the woman said with a slight giggle. Flynn's eyes widened at the revelation, he'd been asking questions all day, but wasn't given that response.

"This is the first attack in years, are you sure miss?" the blonde haired man queried, was Captain Michael right, was something else going on behind the scenes?

"Certainly, Capua Nor has been peaceful for a long time, quite quiet and cosy" the woman said as she looked Flynn up and down with her eyes, a small smile on her face. Flynn guessed she wasn't talking to him just to answer his questions.

Swallowing slightly, Flynn looked away. He wasn't good with situations like this. "Thank you for your time miss" Flynn said quickly ending the conversation and backing away slightly to increase the gap between them.

"Any time Commandant" she replied. "And I do mean _any_" she said with a wink before walking off with a victorious smile.

"What was that about?" a familiar, slightly irritated voice asked, making the young commandant flinch.

"S-Sodia" Flynn stuttered as he calmed himself, it wasn't like he'd done anything wrong anyway. "I was questioning the townspeople and I think she had her attentions elsewhere" Flynn explained, trying to brush over the situation.

"Hmm" she murmured dubiously. "I see" she said before looking to the side to give herself time to change her expression, the act made Flynn feel like laughing but he didn't at fear for his safety. After all Sodia was serious when it came to work, he doubted that she'd enjoy the thought of him flirting instead of asking questions.

"So what did you learn?" Flynn asked his adjutant who pulled out a small folder from under her armpit.

"I think this'll interest you sir" Sodia said in a tone that hid her irritation poorly. He wasn't sure the actual source of the irritation; it could have been him or the woman it didn't matter though. All that mattered was stopping her from getting even angrier.

As Flynn was handed the folder he quickly opened it, burying his eyes in the information. "So he was found face down" Flynn muttered in concentration. "Cause of death was a large wound that spanned his torso, he must have bled out rather fast" Flynn commented, Sodia nodded from the side.

After he'd finished reading he handed the report back to Sodia. "I have a question for you Sodia, do you think with such a wound that you could move afterwards?" the question was so obvious that it bordered on insulting.

"Well I highly doubt that, he must have died in less than a minute" Sodia commented. "Which means if Captain Michael really found him whilst still breathing then he couldn't have been too far away" Sodia concluded.

"Let's not bring Captain Michael into this" Flynn said, re-asserting his confidence in the man, Sodia looked like she wanted to argue back but Flynn stopped her. "I have some information of my own" Flynn informed her, much to her surprise and from her expression, relief.

"Sodia, this attack was the first one in years" Flynn informed her.

"But that would mean the reports of late night assaults were lies" Sodia answered Flynn's suspicions, going silent straight afterwards. "Sir you don't think?" she asked gaining a small nod from the Commandant.

"Sodia, if I remember correctly, the report was sent by a knight on the order of the magistrate right?" Flynn asked gaining a stern nod. "Answer me, why do you think he would make a false claim like that?" Flynn queried.

"Well that's a hard one" she said pausing for a minute. "I don't have a reason" Sodia conceded feeling slightly disappointed, but the smile she got from her leader cheered her up.

"Neither do I, but I think we should find out" Flynn said as he turned in the direction of the magistrate's estate.

"Let's go see what this magistrate is up to" Flynn said to his subordinate who looked over the moon.

"Yes sir!" she replied quickly as she caught up with Flynn who'd already started walking.

* * *

><p><span>End of Chapter<span>

Happy New Year all :D

Wow, I managed to write another chapter despite my hard studying, seriously I've been doing some really deep studying for once, and overcoming procrastination is hard.

So they suspect the Magistrate, well, well how will this turn out? And Raven meeting the mysterious Lieutenant de Vart at his father's grave, what's going on there?

As always I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

-Aquilon


	9. Suspicion and Invitation

Changing the World isn't Easy Chapter Nine

_Ok everyone, I do have a question, what's with the very low review count? The activity I get for chapters in correspondence to reviews is dreadful, it means people are reading and then not caring to review, it makes an author sad._

**Suspicion and Invitation**

The Commandant and his loyal adjutant asked the magistrate's house guards to fetch the Magistrate for them. After initial reluctance from the burly guards, Flynn whittled down their resistance by conveying the severity behind the matters he wished to discuss, making sure however not to express his suspicion towards the magistrate.

"We have uncovered some evidence that I believe the magistrate should see" Flynn lied coolly. The guards gave him a quick once over, doing the same to the female lieutenant. When satisfied one of the men grunted and turned around.

"Wait here for a minute" the guard who stayed behind said rudely, once again irritating the female knight who growled slightly, Flynn hearing this raised his hand, signalling for her to stay calm.

"Some people are like that Sodia, moreso where I'm from" Flynn said calmly with a hint of disgruntlement in his tone. "Besides how can we expect guildsmen to pay us respect?" Flynn questioned his lieutenant who made a small huff making the remaining guard scoff.

"I feel sorry for you" the man said as he leered at Sodia perversely. "Attractive, but the bitch has a bit an attitude problem" he said without any hesitation making Sodia's hand go straight to her sword and Flynn glare slightly.

"Calm down Sodia" Flynn ordered his lieutenant, anger clear in his tone. Sodia shocked from his outburst let go of her sword. She wasn't sure what angered him more, but the look he was giving the guard made her think it wasn't her response that angered him.

As the guard laughed at them, Flynn did his best to restrain himself. No-one talked badly of his subordinates, especially not his favourite. He knew it wasn't good to favour any specific subordinate but he couldn't help himself.

Luckily for the pair the second guard returned with the frail magistrate at his side.

"Ah Commandant Flynn it's nice to see you again" the man said in a soft tone, a small smile on his face as he held his hand out which Flynn took firmly, making the man smile brighter. "I heard you had something you wished to tell me, is that correct?" the man asked politely before turning to Sodia and bowing his head slightly.

"That would be correct sir" Flynn replied formally, hiding his true intentions in his tone carefully. The old man seemed to accept this openly, after all Flynn was one of the most trustworthy people in the empire.

"Then please, do come in" the magistrate said kindly as he turned to the side and smiled at Sodia. "Ladies first" he said politely, it angered her slightly. She was a knight before she was a woman.

"Thank you..." Sodia said reluctantly and walked in first, much to the amusement of Flynn. He knew she wanted to be treated like everybody else. Unfortunately for the knight, the magistrate was in a different age, where women were seen as frail, dainty beings.

Afterwards the magistrate guided Flynn into the estate, escorting the Commandant and his lieutenant to the meeting room he'd done business with Brave Vesperia in. As they were being 'escorted' Sodia didn't fail to notice the sheer amount of guards that practically littered the estate, to someone of her disposition it was highly suspicious.

Sitting down next to her superior Sodia eyed the magistrate curiously. On the outside he seemed like a frail, kind old man. However something about him was a bit off, it was slightly more noticeable to Sodia who was a noble so she understood the upper class more than Flynn. It was about how he carried himself, there was a distinct lack of arrogance which every noble possessed slightly, even she did to some degree. It was as if he was purposely acting a part of a kind old man, instead of being one. Sodia kept these suspicions to herself for the meantime, allowing Flynn to control proceedings.

"So what is it that you wanted to discuss with me Commandant?" the man asked kindly, lacing his fingers together weakly. Flynn smiled and cleared his throat before replying.

"It has come to my attention that somewhere along the line, false information has been spread which may have caused this dreadful incident" Flynn told the man, he was telling the truth, but he purposely left out the fact that he believed the magistrate was the source of the false information.

"Oh dear" the magistrate said with a small frown, nibbling ever so slightly on his cracked lower lip, it was so faint that Flynn didn't notice, Sodia however had. "What exactly did this information say Commandant?" the man asked in a tone of false concern, but this went by unnoticed by Flynn.

"Well for starters, records of incidents that never took place here in Capua Nor, such as midnight assaults and vandalism" Flynn said confidently before turning to Sodia and sharpening his blue eyes at her gaining a small nod.

"This may be presumptuous of me sir, but the information came from your office" Flynn said in a small whisper, leaning over the coffee table when saying it. The old man understanding that Flynn wanted to whisper something bent forward so they were inches apart. "I believe that there may be a bad egg amongst your staff that is directly related to the recent disappearances in the Lower Quarter" Flynn said convincingly.

Sodia who carefully observed the exchange smirked as she saw the magistrate's eye twitch, the clear expression of relief in his eyes when Flynn finished which made Sodia smile slightly. As Flynn moved back to his position Sodia leaned over to disclose some information.

"Sir I think he is related" Sodia stated frankly in a small whisper. Flynn turned the woman and nodded his agreement. The magistrate who watched this eyed them suspiciously before smiling at them.

"Is something the matter young lady?" the magistrate asked politely, irritating the young noblewoman once again.

"It's nothing sir" Sodia replied gaining a small glare from the magistrate, much like the one he gave Karol during the business with Brave Vesperia. However unlike in that incident the magistrate held back on scolding the woman.

"Are you sure?" he croaked, slipping back into his old man persona.

"Yes sir" Sodia said before looking away making the blonde haired man laugh, surprising both the magistrate and Sodia.

"Is something amusing Commandant?" the magistrate asked with amusement in his tone.

"Well" the man started before turning to Sodia. "My lieutenant is too polite at times" Flynn said gaining a small glare from the magistrate making him inwardly smile. "She wished to visit the lavatory, but deemed it too rude to say so in your presence" Flynn said knowing full well the response Sodia would give him when they were alone.

Sodia who'd blushed ever so slightly picked up that her boss wanted her to look around the estate whilst at the same time deflect suspicion from the whisper, despite this she wasn't too pleased. Apparently though the magistrate found it amusing, chuckling slightly to himself as he looked to the female knight.

"Why didn't you just say so young lady?" he asked eliciting a small amused smile from Flynn. Sodia didn't respond and just stayed quiet. "It's down the hall to the fourth door to the right" the man said as if he was trying to get rid of her.

"T-thank you" she said shakily as she turned to Flynn giving him an unamused stare, he knew she'd be angry later but put the thought to the side for now. As Sodia left the room the magistrate gave Flynn a small smile, making him curious.

"Commandant Flynn" the magistrate said coolly his previous kind tone gone. "I hope you aren't suspecting the council of anything dubious" he warned the man with a sharp stare, Flynn smiled in return, making sure not to be too hostile, especially with what he was about to say.

"Sir is that a threat?" Flynn replied making the old man chuckle once again assuming the old man persona.

"Oh dear heaven forbid." He said sounding very amused. "Commandant these type of incidents happen all the time" the man said in reference to the Lower Quarter disappearances. "The fact that you believe someone of my office to be involved shows naivety" the man said wisely. "Nothing comes from facing the council head on Commandant, remember that" the old man warned making Flynn believe the man's involvement wasn't as voluntary as he'd originally thought.

"With all due respect sir, these 'incidents' you speak of are not commonplace and must be dealt with swiftly" Flynn said with slight hostility.

"It's because you're from the Lower Quarter that you say that" the magistrate replied making Flynn grind his teeth slightly. "You are too personally involved in this Commandant, these 'occurrences' happen everywhere, the fact that the victims are from the Lower Quarter is the reason you are so adamant about this matter" the man claimed making Flynn grip the armrest of his seat angrily, there was a vein of truth in what he said.

"What are you talking about?" Flynn said shakily making the magistrate raise an eyebrow. "Disappearances are bad regardless of whom the victim is" Flynn said firmly. "I have heard not of the similar incidents that you speak, do you care to elaborate magistrate?" Flynn asked angrily making the magistrate laugh, not chuckle.

"Commandant that shouldn't be necessary" the magistrate said as he regained his calm. "These incidents I speak of aren't related to the crime committed, I'm talking more of the culprit here" the man said in a manner which was cryptic to the blonde Commandant.

"What do you mean by that sir?" Flynn asked as he got up from his seat. "Do you know who the culprit is?" Flynn asked in a desperate voice, the Magistrate however kept silent. That was until Flynn stood inches from him glaring down on his frail form.

"I can't say" the magistrate said honestly, his involvement was massive but was his willingness to actually take part that was the real question, of course Flynn knew nothing of how involved the old man was.

"Why not?" Flynn asked in his smooth, irritated tone.

"You are too naive to the ways of this world Commandant, that's why" the man said calmly, Flynn was on the verge of attacking him when the sound of his lieutenant's voice caught his ears.

"Get your hands off me or I'll make you!" the lieutenant screamed angrily making the magistrate chuckle slightly.

"I see she has been caught snooping already" the magistrate said making Flynn flinch slightly. "So shall we go and see what the commotion is about?" the old man said getting to his feet and walking off, Flynn stunned followed from behind.

It didn't take long for the two to see the sight of a female knight verbally abusing a male guard who had grabbed her by the arm, stopping her from entering a specific room.

"Well what do we have here?" the magistrate said amusedly as he walked over to the scene, Sodia seeing this, along with her superior's small glare silenced her immediately. She looked at Flynn who seemed disturbed and noted that she'd ask him about it afterwards.

"This _lady _tried to enter your office sir" the guard said mockingly, eliciting a growl from the female knight which made the magistrate laugh.

"Well that would have been a problem" the man said gaining a surprised look from Sodia. "After all it's such a mess that I'd be ashamed if anyone ever saw it" he joked making Sodia glare. "Unhand the lady" the magistrate ordered afterwards, and the guard obeyed.

"Thank you sir" Sodia replied gratefully as she walked over to Flynn, curious about the angry expression on his face.

"Now then" the magistrate said turning to the Commandant. "This may be a little short-notice, but there is a social gathering taking place this weekend Commandant" the magistrate said shooting him a look which made Flynn eye him suspiciously. "You are welcome to attend, as are any guests you wish to invite" he said in a kind tone.

Despite it being unsaid, Flynn understood what the magistrate was trying to tell him. _"You may find your answers there" _Flynn thought and nodded to the magistrate. "Very well" Flynn said. "It was nice meeting with you, I'll be sure to attend" Flynn said making the magistrate smile. "Let's go Sodia" Flynn said before walking off instantly.

(Back at the Inn)

"Sir" Sodia said gaining a small irritated stare from her superior making her frown. "Sorry about earlier" she apologised instinctively.

"It's no bother" Flynn said angrily making Sodia flinch, curious as to why her usually calm and composed leader was acting so off character.

"Then if you don't mind me asking, why are you so angry?" Sodia asked cautiously making the man sigh.

"That man is involved" Flynn stated in a mixture of irritation and disgust making Sodia's eyes go wide.

"Then why didn't you arrest him?" Sodia asked the man firmly, she sounded irritated by Flynn's lack of action if his claims were really true.

"That 'social gathering' is the only reason" Flynn said as his brow creased. "Sodia he knows everything, but he seems unable to tell. As if somebody is watching him" Flynn said as he recalled the image of the old man saying 'I can't say'. "This is part of something bigger than I had expected. The council may be deeply involved and dare I say it, maybe even the knights" Flynn said putting his head in his hands from confusion.

"Sir that's absurd, why would the knights be involved" Sodia said but seconds later Captain Michael's image appeared in her mind. "Captain Michael?" Sodia questioned the man who shook his head uncertainly.

"I don't know. All I know is that the knights are probably involved somehow" Flynn said as he rubbed his eyes slightly.

"Why do you think that sir?" Sodia asked, after all it seemed plausible that the council were involved, but she didn't understand his reasoning behind the knights being involved.

"I was thinking, why was the Lower Quarter empty the night everyone went missing?" Flynn said. "The magistrate told me these incidents are commonplace, if so then why haven't I ever caught word?" Flynn asked Sodia whose expression turned grim.

"The knights never informed the capital" Sodia answered making Flynn nod decisively.

Silence filled the room momentarily before Sodia finally asked the question what Flynn had been working on since he got back. "What do we do from here then?" Sodia asked, after all it would be rash to start issuing investigations on the knights without proof.

"We go to that gathering Sodia" Flynn said as he got to his feet. "We find out what the magistrate wanted us to know" he continued and then smiled slightly. "However first of all, we are going to get a few 'guests'" Flynn said making Sodia raise an eyebrow.

"Such as...?" Sodia asked hoping a certain someone wasn't going to be involved, sadly for her, he was.

"We're going to have to find Yuri" Flynn said with a determined expression making Sodia sigh indignantly.

"_Why am I not surprised?" _Sodia thought grimly as the Commandant excused himself and went to his room, aiming to get some rest before they set out once again.

* * *

><p>(End chapter – Flynn Side End)<p>

Ok this chapter is changed slightly, originally I had the Magistrate down as one of the I'M EVIL people, but I changed him slightly, he's still bad but not as bad as I originally intended, the Heliord one Augustus Léron on the other hand *shakes fist*

Seriously guys a few reviews here and there will make me work harder, it's getting hard to motivate myself when I think you lot are just reading my story and taking it for granted, especially the time I put in to write it :S

-Aquilon


	10. Rival Reunion

Changing the World isn't Easy chapter Ten – _Yuri + Flynn Side Start_

My god thank you reviewers, it may not really mean much, but this is the highest reviewed fiction with Sodia and Flynn as the protagonists (not a massive amount of competition but heck this fiction is only around a month old!)

**Rival Reunion**

Despite his bold proclamation that Yuri was required, Flynn had no real clue as to where he could find the man. The 'social gathering' that was likely to be some kind of fancy ball where fellow nobles conversed with each other whilst nurturing their extreme egos. Flynn had been to quite a few since he became the Commandant, yet it still hadn't made him like them, in fact he hated them, once a Lower Quarter boy always a Lower Quarter boy.

"Sir if we really are going to find _Lowell _then we're going to have to hurry" Sodia said angrily, not masking her frustration. The pair had come to a sort of truce, but Sodia still disliked the man who could change her superior just by being in his presence.

"We have plenty of time" Flynn countered ignoring the anger in his adjutant's voice. "Five days is more than enough time, especially if he's with his guild" Flynn assured the woman.

"So why are we heading to Halure?" Sodia asked the man as she looked up to the sky in hopes of finding that strange dragon-like flying whale that towed Brave Vesperia's ship through the skies.

Flynn smirked for a moment, when Sodia saw this a few question marks appeared around her head. "If anybody knows where Yuri is it'll be Lady Estellise" Flynn claimed with a happy smile, Sodia didn't particularly understand why that would make him so happy.

"Sir is there something going on that I don't know about?" Sodia asked as she fell into stride with him for the first time making the blonde Commandant smile subconsciously as they trod through the dirt path road that was Ehmead hill.

"Maybe you're a little oblivious" Flynn said much to the young woman's surprise. "Haven't you seen the way Yuri acts around Lady Estellise?" Flynn asked the woman who put an armoured hand to her chin.

"He seems to act as aloof and carefree as he does with everyone else" Sodia said with bitterness in her tone, this didn't particularly mean she hated the man now. She just didn't like him a lot.

Flynn laughed at her comment, she guessed that he agreed with her somewhat. "Well that's true" Flynn started as he gazed at the exit to the pass. "However I've never seen Yuri dedicate so much time to helping one person" Flynn told the woman. "He not only travelled all around the world just to help her, but he also settles down occasionally from what I've heard" Flynn said with a small grin.

"You mean with Lady Estellise?" Sodia asked in regards to Yuri's settling down making Flynn nod.

"Yuri was never that good with women" Flynn said with a small chuckle. "There was this one time back when he was still a knight in Shizotania that he remained completely oblivious to Hisca Aiheep's advances, it was amusing to watch due to Hisca's bad temper back then.

"Aiheep? You mean one of the twin lieutenants of Captain Julius who is helping with the Yurzorea restoration project?" Sodia asked genuinely surprised. Flynn just nodded and looked out into the distance again. "How did Chastel react?" Sodia asked, after all she was good friends with them both.

"I don't know really she never spoke about it despite the fact that we were always together" Flynn said as he shrugged making Sodia worry ever so slightly.

"_Don't tell me you were just as oblivious as Lowell" _Sodia thought towards Flynn, it wouldn't come as much of a surprise. This was because Sodia knew deep down, Yuri Lowell and Flynn Scifo were very similar at the core level.

"_Selective obliviousness" _Sodia thought with a small frown as she looked at her superior's handsome face before turning away, deeming it inappropriate to just stare at him without any intention of saying anything.

"Hm is something wrong Sodia?" Flynn asked the woman who shook her head profusely.

"N-nothing sir" Sodia stuttered a reply making the blonde smile gently at her before looking towards the horizon where a giant cherry blossom tree could be seen.

"If we speed up we should reach Halure some time around noon" Flynn said resuming to business, Sodia smirked at this and quickened her pace as if it she was accepting a challenge, soon walking past him making the blonde chuckle lightly at her enthusiasm as he sped up to make it into a real race.

-Halure-

When the pair reached Halure it was indeed just past noon. The two had actually got there a little faster than Flynn had expected. It was mainly down to the fact that Sodia really pushed him in their little 'race'. Regardless of her effort though the blonde Commandant won, but he was impressed by her stamina.

"Tell me again why you don't think you're viable for promotion Sodia?" Flynn joked as he slouched against a small wooden fence at the entrance of Halure to catch his breath, Sodia did the same.

"S-sir enough of the flatteries please" Sodia said in-between large breaths of air. Her face was bright red from tiredness and glistening with sweat. This was beneficial for the female knight as it masked the blush that had crept onto her face from the Commandant's comments.

"It's not flattery Sodia, I'm being honest" Flynn replied as he got to his feet, already feeling a little better. After wiping sweat off his brow he extended a hand to the female knight who after some consideration got up on her own, this aspect of Sodia's personality was something Flynn adored about his adjutant. _"Independent and slightly stubborn" _Flynn thought as he grinned _"she'd snap if I told her it was similar to Yuri though."_

Sodia ignored his little grin, not wanting to know what he found so amusing. _"He didn't notice my embarrassment did he?" _she questioned in hope. She too like her superior wiped some sweat away and took a few shaky steps, still light headed from the running. "Where does Lady Estellise live anyway?" she wondered out loud.

"It's not that far away actually" Flynn said as he walked towards his destination, Sodia just followed him from behind. "I've only visited once though" Flynn said as he turned back to his lieutenant. "So to be honest I'm not one-hundred percent sure" Flynn joked making the woman nod, she knew all too well that Flynn would never forget, she trusted him.

Sodia tilted her vision upwards to admire the former Tree Barrier. It was now no longer the protector of the town, but from what Sodia had heard from Witcher, it was thought that the tree contained vast amounts of mana. "I can't see why Lady Estellise would move out here" Sodia said out loud.

Sure Halure was beautiful and had a nice atmosphere. However as a noble who grew up in the Royal Quarter Sodia couldn't see herself living anywhere else. Sodia guessed that unlike most people Estelle wasn't that fond of her hometown, probably because she spent most of her time in the castle.

"I think it's a wonderful place" Flynn said, but he too thought the same as Sodia to some degree. He'd always preferred the Lower Quarter over everywhere else, even if it wasn't the cleanest of places. "I heard she made her first story here" Flynn then commented, "Perhaps she feels some kind of connection with Halure" Flynn finished making Sodia nod.

"Are you referring to Tales of Vesperia?" Sodia asked making Flynn shake his head.

"No, it was some story about the spirit of the tree, Lady Estellise told me about it" Flynn said making Sodia twitch slightly, she didn't know why but she felt slightly jealous of Flynn and Estelle's relationship, even if he clearly didn't have feelings for her.

"Hm interesting" Sodia said slightly uninterested, contrary to what she believed his reaction would be, Flynn was greatly amused by this. "Sorry" she apologised making Flynn even more amused.

Deciding not to touch upon the topic again as he trudged up the main street, Flynn nodded to a few villagers who had noticed him from the time he'd protected Halure during the monster attacks. "I'm surprised they remember me" Flynn commented, after all people tended to forget good deeds faster than bad ones.

"Sir if it wasn't for you Halure would have been destroyed" Sodia told the man who chuckled.

"Don't forget yourself in that Sodia" he said as he noticed a young teenage girl wave at Sodia, she had a wooden sword and her hair was styled similarly to Sodia's. "They haven't forgotten you either" Flynn said as he noticed Sodia give an awkward nod to the girl.

"Either way, it was Yuri and Lady Estellise who really saved Halure" Flynn said with a little pride in his voice.

Sodia didn't like that Flynn was complimenting Yuri too much but decided to ignore it.

"We've come a long way since then though" he said with pride. "However we have a long way to go before true change occurs" Flynn said as he looked at the tree, "right Sodia?"

"Right" she said with a soft smile, she shared his ambitions, a fairer empire and a land where everyone could live in peace. She was proud that her superior had ascended to the rank of Commandant and was happy she assisted him on his way to the top. _"Lowell may have saved Halure, but you'll save the empire" _she thought, she'd never vocalise this as it would be too embarrassing.

The idle chat continued all the way to Estelle's home.

-Estelle's Home-

A pink haired princess sat in the living room of her home. Paper was neatly stacked on the desk in front of her and a quill pen coloured red and orange sat in some ink. This was made from the feather of the Entelexeia Phaeroh, the very same feather the party had found in the Sands of Kogorh.

As she hummed the tune 'Ring a Bell' she picked up her pen once more and began writing in beautiful cursive, the contents was a new story she had been working on. A romance between a commoner and a princess, she knew where she got the inspiration from and knew how her friends would tease her for it, but the urge to write it eventually became too powerful.

The temporary residence of her home, one Yuri Lowell was currently at the nearby school with her friend Rita, who had made the effort of putting Yuri in one of her classes due to his inability to grasp Rita's other teaching methods. This gave her some free time to write, she couldn't bear to write when Yuri was in the house.

Yuri had been in Halure for over two weeks and slept in a small guest bedroom that was often or not used by Rita despite the fact that she owned her own house in Halure. Despite Estelle's efforts she still couldn't muster the courage to make Yuri notice her affections; she was just happy being in his presence.

All these pent up feelings were shown in her writing, it could be accurately said that they were the source of her writing. If she couldn't say anything out loud, she'd write it down instead. Her deepest fantasies were portrayed in it making it deeply personal. Estelle doubted she would get it published; instead she would probably store it somewhere perhaps showing it to her future children, which in her mind were obviously Yuri's. The mere thought made her sigh dreamily, making her pull back from the table.

As she closed her eyes the image of the black haired man appeared in her mind. This time it was the memory of him diving off the Fiertia to grab her hand, she changed the event slightly though, in this Yuri managed to pull her back from the evil Alexei. She'd been like this ever since the journey had ended, she couldn't get Yuri out of her mind and Rita was the only one who knew of this.

As she indulged herself in more of her fantasies a knock at the door was heard which snapped her out of her blissful daydreaming. Getting to her feet Estelle approached the door opening it to reveal a pleasant surprise.

In front of her was her best friend from the castle, the first person who treated her as a human being instead of just a princess, he was Flynn Scifo Commandant of the Imperial Knights. Standing next to him was a woman that she was only acquaintances with, Flynn's loyal adjutant Lieutenant Sodia Valeria.

"Flynn it's so good to see you!" Estelle chimed happily, diving at the man for a hug. Flynn awkwardly returned the hug. After Estelle broke off the hug she turned to the woman, "you too Sodia" she said with a cute smile, Sodia backed away a few paces just in case Estelle wanted a hug from her too.

Everything was silent for a moment, Flynn momentarily stunned and Sodia looking slightly jealous, that was until Estelle started the conversation. "So what brings you two to Halure?" Estelle asked curiously as she grabbed both knights by the wrists and dragged at them feebly, both gave in and went into her home.

"We were actually looking for Yuri" Flynn broke the silence "do you know where we can find him?" he asked the princess as he sat down in the living room, Sodia herself sat down on the sofa.

"Actually he's at the school right now with Rita" Estelle chimed making Flynn's eyes widen with relief, Sodia didn't particularly share this. "He'll be home in a few hours I think" Estelle commented with a dreamy smile making Flynn raise an eyebrow but before he could inquire Estelle began talking again. "Would you like something to drink whilst you wait?" she asked the Commandant who politely asked for whatever she was having, Sodia did the same.

As Estelle bounded off to the kitchen Sodia turned to the Commandant and asked the question what both had wanted to ask. "What did she mean by 'home'?" Sodia asked the man who smirked.

"I don't now but it's interesting" Flynn replied making the female knight sigh. Flynn was feeling curious as to what Estelle and Yuri's relationship was. Sodia on the other hand became interested by some paper that was on a nearby table.

Unable to contain her curiosity Sodia walked over to it and began reading the contents, her face visibly paled after every line. Flynn noticing this walked over and also began reading it, unlike Sodia he smiled inwardly. It was the story that Estelle was just writing and Flynn knew who the characters were based off.

As they both continued to read they lost concentration of their surroundings, more specifically of the presence that was entering the room. "Flynn, Sodia is tea alright with you two?" she asked as she walked into the room to make sure, only to go bright red upon seeing what they were doing. "W-what are you?" she squealed embarrassedly as she ran over to the two trying to make them stop.

Flynn and Sodia turned around and upon seeing Estelle's crimson face and removed their respective expressions in exchange for guilty ones. As Estelle snatched the paper away and held it to her chest she began to shake. "H-how m-much did y-you see?" Estelle stammered, hiding her fluorescent face behind the paper.

Flynn felt too guilty to reply luckily for him Sodia wasn't the kind of person to hold back. "The kiss scene" she said whilst looking slightly guilty, slightly sick. Estelle squealed again and backed away.

"D-don't tell a-anyone" she pleaded, "Y-Yuri s-specifically" Estelle increased her pleads, Flynn felt even more guilty, but at the same time slightly happy. Flynn wasn't one to tease but he couldn't hold himself back.

"Lady Estellise what does Yuri have to do with this?" he asked the woman who removed her face from the paper and gave him a slightly confused expression before her eyes went wide. She knew she had accidently verified that Yuri was the source of the story.

"That's mean Flynn" Estelle whined as she put the paper down, Sodia give Flynn a slight glare, Flynn just laughed instead showing his amusement.

"Sorry Lady Estellise" Flynn apologised making Estelle pout.

"Estelle, just call me Estelle" the pink haired woman demanded face still tinted red but the blush was receding. "How many times must I tell you Flynn" she 'scolded' before turning to Sodia. "Of course I'd like you to call me Estelle as well Sodia" Estelle offered cheerfully making the woman blush lightly. She wasn't used to people being so friendly with her much like Estelle's best friend Rita.

"I'll try to remember this time" Flynn joked as he sat down and gave Estelle a smile. "So... is that what you want Yuri to do?" Flynn asked making Estelle blush and flee to the kitchen to prepare the drinks.

"Sir I thought we were here to find Lowell, not play around with the princess" Sodia scolded the man slightly making him laugh.

"Don't worry Sodia, you should lighten up a little, don't you find it a little amusing?" Flynn asked the woman who looked away from him, from this response he knew she either found it amusing or repulsive.

"Either way I think we should just wait, Yuri will be here soon according to Estelle" he said making Sodia raise an eyebrow at how he could say the princesses nickname so easily. _"Well she did ask I guess" _she thought as she took the Commandant's advice and 'lightened up' by allowing herself to visibly relax.

-Later Elsewhere-

School had ended, but not for Yuri who was still undergoing the tortuous teaching methods of Rita who was convinced that it was Yuri's fault and not the Blastia's fault that Yuri had yet succeeded in casting a spell.

Yuri could use strike artes with the new Blastia but he just couldn't grasp what Rita was saying. This annoyed Rita so much that she dragged Yuri out into the playground area and forcefully made him resume his training.

"How did I sign myself up to this again?" Yuri complained as Repede found a spot on the floor and settled peacefully. Rita glared at him and huffed.

"What can't you get?" Rita asked genuinely confused. "All you have to do is harness the mana through the Blastia, converge it into one spot, shape it with your imagination and then release it" Rita told the man impatiently making him twitch.

"How the hell do you shape it?" Yuri asked in confusion making Rita smirk.

"The same way you use your strike artes" Rita said with a facepalm before trudging a few steps away. "Now today I won't let you go until you successfully use one spell" Rita told the man who groaned angrily.

"If haven't succeeded once, what makes you think I'll make any progress today?" Yuri asked in frustration as he got into position.

"No reason, I just think you will" Rita claimed as she erected a magic barrier around her with one of her own prototype Blastia. "Now attack me with a spell" Rita ordered making the black haired man twitch.

"So demanding" Yuri sighed angrily which made the brown haired mage glare daggers at him. "Fine have it your way" Yuri said as he began mumbling some stuff half heartedly. It was well known that formal chants weren't required, so Yuri just mumbled whatever came to mind, much like Raven.

Mana gathered around him and a purple circle appeared below his feet, Rita's eyes went wide from hope as three purple rings appeared around his body. "Negative Gate" Yuri finished as a purple sphere appeared above Rita and swirled cracking her shield before fizzing away.

The spell was quite weak but it showed Yuri could use magic, more importantly though it showed that the Blastia worked. "Finally" Rita said happily making Yuri sigh. "Congratulations I guess" she told the man who looked away, a confused expression on his face. "What's wrong?" she asked genuinely interested in what he had to say.

"Nothing" Yuri said as he looked up to see the Great Tree which wasn't too far from their location. "It just felt like there was more 'mana' than usual" Yuri said as he walked over to the young adult who raised an eyebrow.

"Peculiar" Rita claimed as she channelled a spell before cutting it off."I didn't notice anything" she told him with a smirk. "Maybe you're imagining things" she concluded making Yuri huff this time.

"Whatever" Yuri said grouchily as he walked towards Estelle's house. "Come on Repede let's get going" he called out awakening the dog who quickly chased after him.

After the two had disappeared Rita turned and looked at the tree again. "Maybe my thesis is correct" she murmured before turning to walk back to Estelle's.

-Estelle's Home-

As Flynn, Sodia and Estelle spoke to each other they were all caught by surprise as they heard the door open. "Estelle you here?" Yuri called out making Flynn smirk. As Yuri walked into the living room he saw his childhood friend and the woman who stabbed him in the back, literally, making him frown.

"Nice to see you again Yuri" Flynn beat him to the punch making Yuri sigh slightly.

"What are you doing here Flynn?" he asked, ignoring Sodia's presence as much as he could.

"I actually came here to discuss something with you" Flynn told the man who raised an eyebrow curiously as Repede rushed past him to greet Flynn.

"Is it urgent?" he asked the Commandant, Flynn guessed that Yuri could read the look in his eyes and that's why he knew something serious might be going on.

"Yes" Flynn replied before turning to Estelle. "Estelle is there any place Yuri and I can talk in private?" he asked the woman who put a hand to her chin.

"Would the back garden be fine?" she asked the man who smiled and nodded.

"Thanks" he said before turning to Yuri who was already walking past him and towards the garden. Flynn decided to follow because Yuri was more familiar with the house.

As the two disappeared Estelle turned to Sodia. "What is this about Sodia?" she asked the woman who hesitated momentarily.

"How about you watch and find out?" Sodia offered the woman who stood up energetically and walked to a nearby window where you could spy on the garden from. Sodia followed behind her, at that moment Rita entered the house as well.

Outside Yuri and Flynn were standing face to face, Yuri looked tired and slightly annoyed that his evening was already going to be dampened by any bad new Flynn had. Regardless he still waited for the man to speak fairly patiently. "So what's going on Flynn?" he asked the man who gave him a pained expression.

"I need your help with something" he told the man who was tapping his foot impatiently. "Something has happened in the Lower Quarter" Flynn admitted making Yuri's eyes go wide with worry.

"What's happened?" Yuri asked calmly. Well as calmly as he could be in this sort of situation.

"A few weeks ago there were some disappearances in the Lower Quarter, up to fifty people are missing" Flynn started, averting his eyes from Yuri's. "Originally I had come to believe that we would find them with ease" he said in an uncharacteristically depressed voice. "Yet we have hit a block in the road" Flynn admitted.

Yuri's eye was twitching but he forced himself to remain calm. "What kind of 'block' are you talking about?" he asked hostilely.

"There's one lead but I can't do what is required, you however are more experienced at that sort of thing" Flynn told him honestly. "The magistrate of Capua Nor is involved somehow" Flynn told him making Yuri's eyes sharpen, he understood the implications.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Yuri asked the man furiously making Flynn look down at the floor. Yuri's rage wasn't just because he hadn't been told. It was more because if he had known he could have done something about the magistrate when he was in Nor Harbour.

"I thought we could deal with this on our own" Flynn admitted, still not meeting Yuri's eyes. As he continued looking down at the floor he heard Yuri approach him from the front.

"You bastard" was all Yuri said as he punched his childhood friend in the jaw sending him toppling across the floor.

* * *

><p>(End Chapter)<p>

Wow ok that was quite a long chapter, the meaning behind Yuri's punch will obviously be revealed next chapter. We find out Estelle definitely has feelings (and fantasy's) about Yuri, we get some Sodia jealousy and some teasing Flynn this chapter.

The whole tree situation will be resolved, or mentioned later on. In fact if I go ahead with the sequel I have planned then it will play an integral role, so don't worry about it too much.

Special thanks to the reviewers, and I hope I can have more soon lol.

Hope you enjoyed it, Reviews would be very much appreciated.

-Aquilon


	11. Planning

Changing the World isn't Easy Chapter Eleven

_Kind of disappointed with the low amount of reviews but very much appreciated to those who did, I am wondering if people actually enjoy this fiction or not to be honest..._

**Planning**

Flynn tumbled savagely across the floor, the dirt slapping his face as he practically slid to halt. He deserved that and he knew it. He knew he shouldn't have kept Yuri in the dark and he should have understood, after all Yuri loved the Lower Quarter as much as he did. Not only that, this was Yuri and Flynn should have naturally known that Yuri would be angry.

Yuri stood above the Commandant with eyes of fury. "Get up" was all he shouted to the blonde who couldn't meet his gaze. This act of 'submission' seemingly frustrated the black haired man. Flynn knew however that Yuri wasn't completely enraged; otherwise he'd of drawn his sword.

Just as Flynn was about to get to his feet his adjutant came bursting out the back door, sword brandished. Her eyes were blazing and she was absolutely livid. "Get away from him" she raged, closing the gap extremely quickly.

Just as Sodia was about to reach the two men, a ball of fire soared passed her face stopping her in her tracks. Stunned she turned around to see the genius mage glaring angrily and just behind her was the pink haired princess who was approaching quickly. "Stay. Right. There." Rita warned the woman furiously, showing her intent through channelling some mana to form a formula around herself.

"How?" Sodia questioned as the pink haired princess rushed past her. She didn't understand, magic was supposed to be extinct to all but the royal family. Fortunately Rita's actions actually stopped the commotion as Yuri stood unmoved, continuing to look down on Flynn who got to his feet.

"And you!" Rita screamed, incensed by Yuri's actions. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she demanded to the black haired man as Estelle reached his side.

"Just giving this sorry excuse for a Commandant a little lesson" Yuri said cruelly, indeed it was a lesson though. "How dare you look so defeated" Yuri continued directing his anger to his childhood friend who was shocked to say the least.

Flynn thought Yuri was angry for not telling him, that wasn't the reason it seemed. Apparently Flynn wasn't allowed to look unsure of himself if he had made a decision on something. "Yuri, please calm down" Estelle pleaded softly from the man's side, though unnoticeable to most, Yuri's features softened instantly.

"Yuri" was all Flynn said as he turned to Sodia who was still in a shocked stupor. "Sheath your weapon" Flynn ordered smoothly but when she hesitated he asked her with more force. "Now Lieutenant" he ordered and Sodia knew he was serious and put her weapon back where it belonged.

However before Flynn could start explaining himself to Yuri the man skulked off, followed by a concerned Estelle and Repede. "Miss Mordio could you stop with the magic please?" Flynn asked with a weary sigh which made the woman huff before obliging his request.

"You should have expected that you know" Rita told the man before walking into the house to resume one of the books she had been reading recently, leaving the Commandant and his adjutant alone in the garden.

"Sir..." Sodia started with a weakened tone, she didn't know what to say. Unlike Yuri, she didn't know the correct words that would assist Flynn, something that made her resent the black-haired man even more.

"Don't mention it Sodia" he said as he walked over to a small overturned tree which was fashioned in such a way to make a bench. Sodia watched on helpless as he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "I deserved that" he told the woman who directed her glare to the side, clearly she wasn't happy.

"You didn't" Sodia cut in making the Commandant's brow furrow slightly. "How dare he insult you like that" Sodia began to rant in a small mutter, but it was audible for Flynn.

"Sodia" Flynn cried in an exasperated tone. "Regardless of what you think, He is correct on this one" Flynn told her with a tired sigh. He knew Yuri was correct and he knew he had no right to sound defeated, it wasn't something he'd accept, so why did he think Yuri would.

Sodia wasn't happy but she nodded to her superior before reluctantly sitting side by side with him on the 'tree-bench'. "Sodia?" he questioned the woman who stayed silent and looked to the side.

"He'll be back, I doubt he was as angry as he seemed" Sodia said some 'comforting' words which made the Commandant burst out laughing. Sodia however didn't expect this response and turned bright red from embarrassment.

"Are those words of comfort Sodia?" he queried the woman in mid-laugh causing her to flinch and bury her head in her hands. She felt stupid for even trying to sound understanding. As she kept her head in her hands she heard Flynn stand up, still laughing.

She didn't say a word, she knew she shouldn't have tried to do Yuri's job. As her embarrassment continued to grow she felt a strong hand on her shoulder, at that moment the laughter stopped. The hand remained for a few seconds until she looked up, face tinted red.

"Commandant?" she asked making the blonde's eyes sharpen ever so slightly, she had the distinct feeling he wanted to be called by his name.

"Thank you Sodia" he told the woman with a smile, her awkward comfort seemed to amuse him so much that he returned to his normal self. "Now let's go inside, I'm sure Yuri will come back ready to talk" he told the now crimson woman.

"U-understood sir" she said dumbfounded. _"Did I really help?" _she wondered as she followed him into the princess' house, feeling slightly proud yet embarrassed by her actions. She had no right or intention to do that. She just couldn't stop herself from trying, which made her curious as to why that was. _"At least he seems happier" _she thought positively as she spotted the genius mage smirking at her as she walked through the door.

"Why'd you stop?" she asked the two, clearly she had been spying on them. Both feeling suitably embarrassed they ignored her and sat on different sides of the sofa, waiting for the black haired man to return.

-Halure the Great Tree-

Yuri wasn't particularly angry, more like frustrated. He knew that he had accidently done something which couldn't be undone. _"That cargo" _Yuri thought as he pilfered through his pockets to find a Gald sack. He had kept the money with him ever since. Grasping it tightly he shouted loudly into the darkening sky. It was nothing in particular but it was kind of like a battle roar, or a wolf howling to signal its arrival. _"Those were the Lower Quarter 'abductees" _he thought angrily, he knew they probably wouldn't be in Heliord anymore so rushing off would be stupid.

"Yuri?" a soft voice asked snapping Yuri out of his random shouting, which was in front of the great tree of Halure. As he looked over his shoulder he spotted the pink haired princess approaching him slowly, Repede however rushed to his side and barked, as if to join in with his master.

"Estelle" was all Yuri could muster in reply as he turned back around to look at the forever blooming tree. Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, it bloomed all year long now. When Estelle reached his side she placed her hands connected at her front, almost emitting a pressure that was unbearable for Yuri. "You saw everything?" he asked the woman he'd saved multiple times.

"Yes" she said making him feel guilty. "Are you... still angry at Flynn?" she asked him softly, eliciting an unexpected sigh from his lips.

"I wasn't really angry" he assured which made her give him a questioned look which he returned with a solemn stare. "This money" he told her as he pulled out the sack. "It was probably earned by ferrying the Lower Quarter victims" he deduced, forcing a gasp from the pink haired princess who quickly placed one hand over her mouth afterwards. "The trail is probably cold" he told her, it wasn't pessimism, it was realism.

"Flynn's words made me realise what I may have done" he said in an annoyed tone. "Not only that he comes by to ask for my help, that isn't like Flynn, besides I'm partly the blame for this" he informed the princess who silently listened, nodding occasionally to show that she was listening.

"I'm angry that he can be so unconfident, he's the Commandant! He should be changing things, not asking me, a former criminal for help" he admitted to the princess who bit her lower lip at his last comment.

Yuri didn't know why he could share anything with Estelle. He guessed it was her kind and accepting attitude that made it easier to share things with.

"Yuri this isn't your fault" she told him calmly yet with a hint of affection. He didn't want to hear this but listened anyway. "It's the criminal's fault Yuri, not yours" Yuri just nodded as she said this. "If you want to make up for it though..." Estelle said before smiling at him "why don't you just help Flynn?" she told him with a smile so radiant that he nearly blushed.

"It's not that easy" Yuri said reluctantly as he regained his composure. He'd end up killing someone, he knew it and whilst he wasn't adverse to murder, he promised a particular pink-haired woman that he wouldn't resort to it again. "Flynn could probably solve this himself if he tried hard enough" Yuri added, but Estelle just poked him in the side and giggled.

"But you want to help right?" she asked him with bright emerald eyes, her voice was so upbeat and positive that despite the situation Yuri couldn't help but smile. He could feel his heart beating a little fast than normal but ignored it. "You want to help him with his goal but you're too stubborn" she told him in an all-knowing tone, yet at the same time it was so calm and soothing.

"I guess" Yuri admitted bashfully as he tipped his black cap over his eyes where the heat he was feeling was emanating from. Repede barked in such a way that sounded like he was mocking Yuri, Estelle didn't understand Repede like Yuri did and just giggled.

"See even Repede agrees" Estelle chirped joyously making the dog bark again.

"_I don't think that's what Repede is saying Estelle" _Yuri thought dryly as he continued to smile reluctantly.

"Huh?" Estelle sounded, questioning the man slightly about the smile she saw on his face.

"It's nothing Estelle" he told her as he looked up towards the tree to see it glowing slightly. It was a common sight which occurred once every month. According to some mages it was the accumulation of mana which illuminated the petals a bright fluorescent pink.

As the three, Repede included stared at the tree Estelle poked the man again. "Apologise to Flynn when you get back" she 'ordered' him, Yuri didn't say anything, but by the expression on his face Estelle knew he would.

After watching the tree for a short amount of time they decided to return to the house. As they were walking back Estelle stared at Yuri's hand which was empty swinging back and forth gently. In a moment of boldness from the usually meek princess she reached her own hand out and slipped it delicately into his.

Yuri turned his head to the side at this and looked down on the princess smiling contently before linking their fingers. He thought nothing of the action though, after all it was from the girl who glomped people she was close to.

Unknown to Yuri, Estelle's heart was beating so fast that it kind of hurt. Her face had turned bright red and her mind was currently concocting absolute nonsense that was flying through her skull at one hundred miles per hour. Eventually her instincts took over for her and she moved over slightly so their arms were touching, sighing gently she just enjoyed the moment which would end once they reached her home.

"C-can w-we walk a l-little slower?" Estelle spluttered her question making the man laugh softly before slowing his pace dramatically. Repede barked a slight approval of the sight making Yuri give him an 'it's not that' sort of expression.

Regardless of the pace they eventually reached the house and Estelle reluctantly let go of Yuri before entering first. Rita greeted her only to see her go straight into the kitchen with a bright red face. As Yuri entered Rita gave him a questioning look. "What did you do?" she asked the man who shrugged and walked into the living room, ready to start talking with Flynn.

-Living Room-

Yuri entered to see Flynn and Sodia both looking at one of Rita's Blastia curiously. Neither of them noticed him enter which made him smirk. "Hey" he said in a carefree manner, making the blonde Commandant look up, surrendering the device to Sodia who decided to keep looking at it, instead of showing her visible anger to Yuri.

"Yuri" the blonde said as he got to his feet.

"Sorry" Yuri told the man before placing himself down on a chair. Flynn stared at him in disbelief as did Sodia who now couldn't look up due to shock. "What's with the expressions?" he asked the two making Flynn smile slightly.

"Nothing" Flynn retorted as he too sat down. "Right Sodia?" he asked the woman who mumbled an 'hm' in response making him laugh awkwardly.

"So you came here to ask for my help, what exactly do you need?" Yuri asked getting straight to the point making the Commandant's expression turn serious.

"I'd like Estelle to be present for this" he said and right on cue to pink haired princess entered, she refused to look at Yuri but she was smiling. Rita on the other hand who was right behind her seemed to have a sly expression which she directed at Yuri when their eyes met.

"That's fortunate" Flynn said as he waited for everyone to sit down.

Estelle who'd heard that Flynn wanted her present turned to the man. "Flynn do you need my help as well?" she asked the man who nodded before turning to Rita. "Miss Mordio as impressive as your Blastia are, I don't think you can be of help" he told the mage who huffed indignantly. "B-but you can remain if you want" Flynn compromised; he didn't want to upset the girl who could set him on fire at any moment in time.

"Well I needed to create a few more Blastia, so some free time would be ok with me" Rita said as if she wouldn't have wanted to help anyway, this made the Commandant smile knowingly.

"However, Yuri, Estelle, you two are required" he told them, who both nodded instantly. "Remember I said the Magistrate was up to something?" he asked the black haired man who nodded in regards to his question.

"Yeah what about it?" he seethed, it wasn't directed at Flynn, instead it was towards the Magistrate in general.

"Well he has invited us to an event" he informed them. "A 'social' gathering, he challenged me to find the answers there" he informed Yuri who clenched a fist. "I don't think he's as involved as we may suspect, but he's still involved in this" Flynn informed Yuri, Estelle nodded and Sodia stayed silent.

"I want you and Estelle to come as my guests" Flynn told the two, Estelle's expression brightened but Yuri's turned rather sour. "At a specific point in time, I'll try and draw as much attention as possible" Flynn told the man who smirked.

"And you want me to do a little snooping I guess?" Yuri asked the man who grinned back at him.

"You know me too well Yuri" Flynn joked making the man laugh. Sodia watched the exchange and felt a little jealousy. Estelle on the other hand smiled at the two's closeness.

"Does this mean there's going to be dancing?" Estelle asked the Commandant who nodded at her question which made Estelle's eyes sparkle excitedly. "Does this mean Yuri will have to dance?" she asked making the black-haired man flinch. Once again the Commandant nodded making the princess squeal ever so slightly. She was obviously excited.

The expression on Yuri's face made Soda grin. Yuri looked uncomfortable at the idea, she guessed as a commoner he had no idea of what to do. "On top of that Lady Estellise" Sodia cut in, Estelle was slightly unhappy at the title though. "He'll have to dress accordingly for the occasion" she informed the woman who turned to Yuri with a very excited expression.

"Really?" she asked the female knight who nodded, grinning in delight at how the black haired man seemed to squirm slightly in his seat. Flynn noticing this decided not to chide his lieutenant and instead enjoyed the show.

"Wait a minute you guys" Yuri halted their conversation. "I have no clothes which suit a fancy ball" Yuri informed them and then smiled. "I'll be happy to climb in through the window or sneak into the place though" Yuri told them before Estelle stopped him.

"Wrong!" Estelle chimed as she got to her feet much to the surprise of everyone present. She then ran upstairs, leaving the living room completely silent in her absence. All of them were curious as to what Estelle was planning.

Moments later Estelle came running down the stairs holding a uniform that Flynn remembered quite clearly. The sight made him smirk slightly, Sodia didn't understand it though. "W-where did you find that?" Yuri stuttered slightly much to everyone's surprise.

"Down near Aurnion's river before we left town" Estelle told him making him flinch. Estelle had originally snuck it into his bag after Yuri left. So once she found it she kept it in immaculate condition for him.

Flynn gave Yuri a disapproving stare and Sodia remained clueless. "What is so important about that outfit?" Sodia asked her superior.

"His highness Ioder had made that outfit for Yuri" Flynn informed his adjutant, she just stared in disbelief. "It was for the ceremony where Yuri would be given the rank of Free-Paladin, the highest military based honour that can be earned without being associated with the knights" he explained.

"The knight equivalent is Paladin, a unique rank that is above Captain" he informed her. "However that was only around in the early days of the empire, there have been no Paladins for centuries" Flynn finished.

Sodia wanted to say a comment of how Yuri didn't deserve such an honour. But in retrospective, his actions in assisting Flynn stop the Blood Alliance, protecting the princess, defeating Alexei and destroying the Adephagos, she had to admit he did deserve perhaps a little credit, even for a criminal.

"To throw out such an outfit" Sodia started that was until Flynn started laughing.

"His highness guessed it would happen" Flynn joked making the female knight go quiet. "However next week at the gathering you will wear that Yuri" Flynn said with a devious expression. "Where we will officially reveal you as the first Free-Paladin in centuries" he finished making Yuri's eyes go wide in shock and Estelle to beam a smile, she thought it was a great idea.

"That'll make people pay attention to me even more" Yuri argued making Flynn laugh. "Yuri have you ever been to these gatherings?" he asked making the man shake his head. "Well those who don't have status are paid attention to much more, because they are unworthy, you'll draw attention being a 'commoner'" Flynn said it in the most delicate way possible.

"I see" Yuri said and then nodded. "And you'll be using your own commoner status as the distraction?" he asked making Flynn laugh deviously.

"Like I said, you know me too well Yuri" he told his friend with a grin.

-A little later-

Apparently the men had agreed on everything, leaving Sodia and Estelle to wonder what exactly was planned. The atmosphere was very calm, the anger from earlier completely forgotten. Estelle got up to go and cook and she eventually dragged Sodia away with her to help leaving the two men and Rita in the living room.

"Aren't you going to help?" Flynn asked the girl making her scoff.

"As if, well it couldn't be as bad as your cooking" she said under her breath making Flynn blush slightly, he remembered the cooking contest, it was... surprising.

"About what we were speaking about earlier" Flynn started in a successful attempt to get off that subject. "Those Blastia is it true that they are easily mass producible?" Flynn asked, confusing the black haired man who wasn't present at the time.

"Yes but they're expensive, finding the materials isn't easy either" Rita conceded and she plucked up the prototype Blastia which sat idly on the table. "If you want one for yourself then I can make you one, just get the materials and a hundred Gald" Rita offered, smiling as the Commandant quickly shook his head.

"How much would it cost to mass produce them on a large scale?" Flynn asked, once again leaving the ex-knight out of the conversation.

"A lot" Rita grinned devilishly; after all she had originally intended to share the technology for free.

"Hm" Flynn murmured as he placed a hand on his chin. "I'll ask his Highness Ioder when I return to the capital next week" Flynn said as he led back on the sofa, bringing a wide smile to Rita's face.

"Great!" she practically screamed as she got to her feet and rushed out of the room and in the direction of the kitchen, confusing the two males present.

"I didn't expect her to be that happy" Flynn voiced his thoughts, eliciting a laugh from his childhood friend who stared at him with a strange look of confidence in his eyes. "What's that look for Yuri?" the blonde questioned in response which made him shrug half-heartedly.

"Oh nothing, just thinking about how we're going to kick the ass of the ones who did this" Yuri declared with a confidence that seemed to invigorate the young Commandant.

"Right" Flynn agreed before grinning. "But first Sodia and I have to get ready for that gathering" Flynn said so softly that Yuri laughed in an almost insinuating tone. "What?" Flynn asked, perplexed by the expression on Yuri's face.

"It's a job loverboy, not a date" Yuri stated, putting his hands behind his head, grinning with satisfaction as a blush reached his childhood friend's face.

"Don't get me started on intentions Yuri" Flynn said as calmly as he could, face burning ever so slightly.

"And what's that supposed to mean Flynn?" Yuri practically demanded, making Repede bark instantly.

"Hah, Repede understands" Flynn stated as the dog they cared for when they first became knights yawned and led down.

"Understands what?" Yuri demanded in absolute confusion.

"Nothing Yuri, nothing at all" Flynn said sarcastically, a bright smile on his face, knowing he got Yuri back, even if his oblivious friend had no idea what he was saying.

* * *

><p>(End Chapter)<p>

Ok I know it took me forever to update but I've been busy with other fictions, besides the low review count depressed me to the extent where I couldn't really update. If you liked this chapter then please review, I'd like to know your opinions.

Next Chapter will have elaboration on the build-up to the party and delve into Raven's past a little, or so I think.

Anyway I hoped you enjoyed and please review.

-Aquilon


	12. Calm before the Storm

Changing the World isn't Easy Chapter Twelve

_I was surprised, after eight months of inactivity I finally update and I get the top amount of reviews for a chapter in regards to this story, what a brilliant way to invigorate me to write more! Thank you, I hope you enjoy._

**Calm before the Storm**

Three days had passed since Flynn and Sodia's arrival in Halure. This meant that it was only a matter of days until the social gathering at the Magistrate's house in Capua Nor where Flynn would initiate his plan to get as much information he could on the recent Lower Quarter disappearances.

Yet despite the severity of the situation the stay in Halure had been anything but that, with Flynn spending most of the days relaxing as if they were on holiday. Yet this didn't mean that they hadn't made any preparations, it's just that they knew they had plenty of time and rushing wouldn't change anything.

However today was different because Flynn decided that he'd take Rita up on her offer, so after getting a list of materials to make Blastia he set off, leaving the City of Blossoms in the early hours which left his adjutant with nothing to do, after all she wasn't good at relaxing.

"_I shouldn't spend all day inside" _Sodia thought as she exited the Inn that she and her superior were lodging in, as usual she wore her knight uniform. It wasn't that she didn't own other clothes it was just that she prided herself in her uniform and her status as a knight over that of being a woman.

After much consideration the woman decided to visit the Great Tree of Halure, after all it was the landmark of the city. She also chose to go there because she assumed it would be quiet which unfortunately for her, wasn't the case.

As she approached the Giant Tree she spotted what she would describe as a 'swarm' of children. All of which watched on with awe as they watched the black haired man she disliked perform artes for them. _"Impressive" _Sodia thought reluctantly as she crept closer to catch sight of the man's loyal partner Repede showing off his own moves much to the younger children's delight.

"Yuri use a Negative Gate" the knight heard the genius mage Rita Mordio practically order from the man's side which made him sigh loudly.

"Why?" Yuri complained as he stopped moving his graceful sword and held it stationary over his shoulder, much to the surrounding children's disappointment.

"Do I need a reason?" Rita asked as she put her one hand on her hip whilst using the other to open up a thick, yet small brown book which had odd pieces of paper sticking out of it.

"Well yeah" Yuri said bluntly as Repede howled before flipping elegantly in the air, performing his 'Shining Dog' arte which made the youngest children sound their amazement with tiny 'wows', once the dog landed a few even ran up to him and petted him and much to Sodia's surprise the dog didn't walk away.

"It's flashy so it'll entertain the children, it's also powerful and finally it'll help me with my thesis" the mage said moodily as she waved the book in front of his face, Sodia didn't understand it but she guessed it was important.

"Fine but make sure you use a magic guard, I don't want them getting caught in it" Yuri said in reference to the children gaining a small smile from the mage who walked in front of the kids and erected a massive magic guard, somewhat fitting of such a grand mage.

"Stay inside the dome" Rita told the children and young teenagers present, most of which were girls and Rita had an idea why but never vocalised it.

"Okay" they all chimed as Yuri stepped forward and started channelling Mana, forming a purple glyph beneath his feet as three circles appeared around his body.

"_He can use magic?" _Sodia thought incredulously as she stepped back and hid in the bushes, much to her shame because it was as if she was snooping on him.

"Uh blah, dark bubble vortex thing" Yuri chanted lamely much to Rita's annoyance, after all though it was common knowledge that you didn't need any specific incantations she felt like it was almost disrespectful to chant in such a way. "Negative Gate" Yuri finished, summoning a dark vortex which seemingly dragged in all what was around it which forced Sodia to hold the bushes tightly so she wasn't discovered.

Once finished a few of the children ran up to him with excited looks on their faces, the rest stood behind Rita, almost afraid of the magic that Yuri used. "Wow that was so cool!" a little boy, probably around the age of five said in a childishly high pitch.

"Uh thanks" Yuri said with a smile on his face before looking to Rita. "Is that good enough?" he asked the young woman who merely nodded before closing her eyes, Sodia had no idea what she was doing back she sure was curious.

"Can you do it again?" the little boy asked excitedly which almost made Yuri sigh, but apparently he was much more polite to children than he was to adults something Sodia respected, almost. However before Yuri had the chance to respond another question came flying his way.

"Where's Estelle?" a girl wearing a sky-blue dress asked, tugging at his leg, if Sodia had to guess she assumed the girl was about six or seven and by the look on her face she had a tiny crush on the man.

"I don't know" the black haired man answered instantly with a laugh, turning to Rita who was scribbling some notes into her book.

"Why not?" another girl who was probably around four years old asked him cutely, "aren't you her boyfriend?" she asked innocently which made the man laugh softly before shaking his head.

"No I'm not her boyfriend" he said seriously, making Repede bark instantly in denial. However despite the dog's claims it was actually well taken amongst the crowd, especially among those who were around ages thirteen and fourteen since they had their own fantasies that they didn't want ruined.

As Sodia watched on she almost felt appalled at the fact that Yuri, a former criminal was so adored by the children of Halure. This shock was eventually the cause of her discovery because as she attempted to escape the scene that clashed with her image of Yuri, she rustled the bushes a little too loudly which made Rita's eyes snap open.

"Fireball" Rita said instantly, not even needing a chant for such a basic spell which was a problem for the seasoned knight who had to dive out of the way on the incoming projectile, forcing her to literally roll into the open where everyone could see her.

"Sodia?" a shocked Yuri queried as he spotted the female knight on all fours, eyes wide and breathing heavily at the fact that she was almost set on fire. "What were you doing hiding in the bushes?" he then asked as the woman looked up at him, a small flush of embarrassment tinted on her face.

"None of your business Lowell" the female knight said in a composed manner, getting to her feet gingerly before dusting her knees off whilst trying to keep her dignity. "The real question is why are you shooting magic at me all the time?" Sodia asked in an almost hurt manner as she pointed at Rita who shrugged.

"I thought you were a monster" Rita quipped in an uninterested manner as she glanced to the side before scribbling a few more notes in her book, which made a majority of the crowd laugh which only embarrassed the knight further.

"A-A monster?" Sodia stammered in offence and embarrassment, cheeks reddening as reached for her sword on reflex, yet this time she managed to stop herself.

"Yeah sorry about that" Rita apologised but it was clear that there wasn't a hint of sincerity in her voice and whilst it was seen as a sign of rudeness, most people who knew Rita knew it was just his social disposition that made her like that.

"_What do I say in response to that?" _Sodia thought, trying to be the bigger person but all her thoughts seemed to be insults or at least words that would be taken as an insult. As she racked her head for an answer she saw the man who she clashed with so badly smirk which made her almost brace for embarrassment.

"Want to practice too?" the man asked almost kindly, taking her by surprise. What Sodia was expecting was a smart-ass remark not an escape route, she wondered if he knew that she was having difficulty replying and if so why would he help.

"Uh" Sodia mumbled as she tried to look a Yuri without a glare but it wasn't possible because glaring at the man was reflex.

"What better chance do you have at finding my weakness?" Yuri taunted, irritating the knight. She had no idea what the black-haired man was up to but she fully intended of taking up his offer, even if it did go against her better judgement.

"Just don't think this makes us friendly, ok Lowell?" Sodia responded, attempting to sound annoyed as she did so, but this only resulted in mutual smirks on Yuri and Rita's faces.

"Wouldn't even dream of it" Yuri said sarcastically as he lifted his sword off his shoulder and pointed it at the female knight. "Let's just see if you can match your 'beloved' Commandant" the man taunted, eliciting a low growl from the female knight as she drew her sword and pointed it at the world's hero.

"I'll make sure of it" Sodia claimed as she glared into Yuri's eyes, exciting the crowd of children. As this occurred Rita sighed and walked over to the tree and sat against it, placing one hand of the trunk as she closed her eyes again.

"Isn't there a little too much mana?" she remarked almost warily as the two battle crazy 'enemies' charged at each other.

-A little later on, Halure-

As noon fell upon the City of Blossoms the female knight practically dragged herself down the steep hill towards the Inn, physically and mentally tired from 'training' with the black-haired former criminal. _"How is he so skilled?" _she wondered almost enviously as she remembered her sword being knocked out of her hands more times than she could count, or so it seemed.

"No wonder why he's Fly- no the Commandant's rival" Sodia murmured tiredly, making the female mage who walked only a few steps ahead of her laugh.

"Bet you didn't expect him to be that good" Rita said as she headed towards Estelle's house, confusing the female knight who was under the assumption that Rita had her own home in Halure.

"Why are you following me?" Sodia asked grumpily as she trudged behind her, ignoring the fact that she was technically following the mage.

"Just taking my research 'home'" Rita commented as she tapped the book which was secured on the binder she had affixed to her back.

"But that's not your home" Sodia mumbled confusedly earning a small shrug of the shoulders from the genius mage.

"It's convenient" Rita lied; truthfully she just enjoyed spending time with her best friend.

"Uh-huh" an uninterested Sodia replied doubtfully before sighing, neither of them were conversationalists so small-talk was not an easy task for them.

"Yuri's not so bad once you get to know him you know" Rita informed the knight in an attempt to fill the void of silence as she stopped in front of Estelle's house, taking Sodia by surprise since she had no idea she was actually following the young-adult.

"Hm" Sodia mumbled her agreement? She wasn't too sure to be honest, as she did this Rita walked into the house and Sodia, who was already tired as it was, followed her, hoping to find some place to sit down.

Unfortunately for her it wasn't going to be that easy because from the moment she walked through the door she was met by a very excited princess, for what reason she wasn't too sure but she knew her first course of action was to get to the sofa.

"Oh Sodia I'm so glad you came over!" the princess chimed as Sodia fell down on the piece of furniture with a thud, something that would of been shameful for her if she wasn't so tired.

"Really?" Sodia asked coolly as Rita walked across the room and placed her book on one of Estelle's shelves before seating herself down on one of the lone chairs.

"Of course I've been trying to get a hold of you all week but you've always been with Flynn and I didn't want to... intrude" Estelle said innocently with a slight hint of an innuendo which made the young mage snort, much to Sodia's embarrassment. "But now you're here so I can finally ask you!" the young princess claimed, face brimming with excitement, the kind which even made Rita nervous.

"Ask me?" the tired Sodia questioned almost meekly, she wasn't used to so much conversation so it unnerved her at the same time.

"Well I know Flynn is all ready for the gathering this weekend but it's so much easier for boys" Estelle started, speaking extremely quickly, almost like a child on a sugar high. "So I was wondering if you had what you were wearing ready as well" Estelle finished in such a manner that Rita could tell her best friend was hoping Sodia wasn't.

"I'm... ready" the knight partially lied, mainly because her choice of dress wasn't something you could say she has prepared for.

"Really?" Estelle asked, hoping the woman had made a mistake.

"Yes..."

"So you have a dress picked out already?" Estelle asked in an almost disappointed manner, frowning cutely as she stared into Sodia's purple orbs.

"Y-" Sodia was about to start but was quickly interrupted before she could even muster a single word.

"She has nothing" Rita claimed from the chair as she doodled on a piece of scrap paper she had found on the side. "She's lying" Rita followed up as she added whiskers to her masterpiece which was nothing more than a cartoon kitten's face, yet she seemed proud of her work.

"I do" Sodia technically lied once more which made the mage smirk from her spot, which gave Sodia the impression that Rita was far more inquisitive than she thought possible for someone with such an anti-social manner.

"She's going to go in her Knight's uniform" Rita struck the final blow, making the princess gasp in what seemed to be a mixture of shock and horror which was deemed as overdramatic to Sodia who didn't understand what the big deal was in the first place.

"You can't! You just can't!" the novel writer cried out in protest, lacing her hands together in an almost pleading manner as she did so.

"What's wrong about it?" Sodia questioned which made even Rita snort and she wasn't even the type who enjoyed fancy dances and parties, heck she wasn't even fond of small parties.

"What's wrong?" Estelle asked in an almost distraught manner. "Do you want Flynn to see you like that? Don't you want to impress him?" Estelle asked, bringing a small blush to the female knight's face whilst at the same time bringing a sly grin to Rita's.

"This isn't about Flyn- the Commandant" Sodia claimed, correcting herself tiredly as she eyed the door almost wistfully.

"No, I won't have it!" Estelle said in an attempt to sound authoritative but instead sounded like a child having a temper tantrum but that changed rather quickly with her next words. "I was hoping that you didn't have a dress anyway" Estelle's tune changed dramatically as a smile reached her face. "There's this place I wanted to visit but Rita never has time to go" Estelle continued, making the female knight turn to glare at the mage who began to whistle innocently.

"So I've decided we're going to get you a dress!" Estelle said, skipping all the vital details as if she'd explained everything. "So let's go" Estelle said excitedly, ignoring the fact that the woman in front of her was almost as 'odd' as her best friend.

"I think... I'll pass Lady Estellise" Sodia told the woman who frowned before placing her hands on her hips.

"Estelle" the woman 'warned' her.

"Estelle then" Sodia conceded tiredly.

"You should give up you know, I'm sure Flynn would be ashamed if you denied the princess of an opportunity like this" Rita informed the female knight flippantly, eliciting a tiny, almost inaudible gasp from the woman's lips after all she didn't want to shame the knights by disobeying the princess.

"I-I'll go" Sodia cracked almost instantly which made Estelle practically squeal with happiness as she hugged the anti-social knight, which she attempted to return albeit rather awkwardly.

"This will be so much fun" Estelle claimed as she giggled girlishly forcing a grimace onto Sodia's face much to Rita's amusement. "Rita you're coming too" Estelle followed up quickly, cutting said amusement short.

"W-Wait my research" Rita cried instantly, throwing her kitty doodle to the side as she did so.

"Can wait" Estelle finished for the young-adult, forcing a blush onto Rita's face as she conceded to an instant defeat.

"Okay" Rita agreed reluctantly as she leaned over the arm of the chair to grab her doodle, ignoring the look of satisfaction on Sodia's face as she did so.

"Great!" Estelle chimed as she practically skipped towards the stairs, turning around to inform them that she'd only be a minute for disappearing, sealing the fate of the two rather tomboyish and anti-social young women.

-The Imperial Capital, Zaphias-

The carefree attitude of the Princess was almost a complete opposite to that of the First Captain of the Imperial Knights, Schwann Oltorain, better known as by his friends as Raven. This was because today was a very personal date for him.

It was the thirteen years to the day that he died and his entire brigade died when he was known as Damuron Atomais. Not only that, the date held one more important event.

It was the day his noble house fell and his father died.

Indeed thirteen years to the day, Schwann's world crumbled, he lost his brigade, he lost the captain he loved and he lost his family. It was for that reason that he walked into the cemetery in the Lower Quarter to pay respects to his father, even if he hated the man and had discarded his name.

As the man, adorned in his orange uniform walked towards the tombstone he was met with the sight of Felix de Vart once more, but this time he was accompanied by another man, a man that Schwann knew all too well.

"What are you doing here?" the Captain asked, masking his hatred for the elderly man who stood next to the effeminate Felix.

"Just paying my respects" the man lied and he made no attempt to mask it, if anything it was like he had come to gloat.

"Then I thank you Grand-Duke" Schwann coolly replied, showing clear restraint as he placed a bouquet of flowers at his father's grave. "Though I'm not sure why you'd pay respect to this guy" Schwann said as he stepped back, eyeing the Grand-Duke's face which was strikingly similar to his son's.

"Well I did get his seat on the Council when he sadly passed" the Grand-Duke claimed, a snake-like smile on his face as he stared Schwann in the eyes. "So why are you here Captain Schwann?" the man asked, after all, nobody knew the connection between Schwann and the passed Council member.

"He was a mother's friend, his son was a close friend of mine" Schwann lied as eyed Felix once more, feeling almost nostalgic as he observed the man whose face was half obscured by his long hair.

"Was a close friend?" the Grand-Duke asked with fake curiosity.

"He died in the war, the slaughter of the Casey Brigade during the 'Battle of Bloody Sands' I'm sure you've heard of it" Schwann said shakily, voice almost wavering as he mentioned the name of his beloved who died at his side.

"I see" the Grand-Duke said almost sympathetically but Schwann knew better, after all Solomon Lexar was known as a snake, someone you could never trust.

"Well it would have been almost cruel if he had survived" the Grand-Duke continued, eliciting a quiet, yet monotonous gasp from Felix which forced a grin onto Solomon's face.

"Why?" Schwann feigned ignorance, forming a fist as he attempted to steady his breathing.

"Well the House of Atomais fell on the same day the 'Battle of Bloody Sands' ended" the Grand-Duke informed as he licked his lips. "After all I commandeered the attack on the estate" Solomon claimed almost proudly, forcing Schwann to grit his teeth, he knew this already but it didn't make things any easier.

"I see" Schwann said shakily, noticing that Felix also had a clutched fist something which took him as peculiar but he paid it no heed.

"Oh but that's only half of it" Solomon continued, practically revelling in Schwann's reactions. "Just imagine the look on his face if he found out his entire world had crumbled, can you imagine what it's like to lose everything you love at once?" he asked almost philosophically as the Captain felt a surge of hatred forming in his stomach which made him feel physically sick.

"Of course I do feel bad for doing what I did but they were a threat, I'm sure someone like you understands, right?" Solomon asked as Schwann began to visibly shake.

"Yeah, perfectly" Schwann said as he fell back into his Raven persona slightly, already preparing to walk away that is until Solomon uttered his next words.

"When I think about it, even I would be hard pressed to cope with my father's death, my mother's slip into insanity and of course my brother's disappearance all at once" Solomon said almost mockingly, as if he knew Schwann was Damuron.

"Yeah" Schwann said as he closed his eyes and willed himself to stay calm.

"Well that's enough I guess" Solomon said as he turned to Felix. "Felix, come we have to go" Solomon said the young man who nodded, placing a flower at the grave before walking away, catching Schwann's eyes with his own briefly before walking away with the sadistic Grand-Duke.

"Why does he seem so familiar?" Schwann wondered briefly as he closed his eyes as tried to stop the tears that were building from escaping.

"_And my brother's disappearance"_ the Grand-Duke's words echoed in his mind, forcing his eyes open instantly.

"Wait, my brother's disappearance?" he said quietly as he turned to watch the back of the retreating Grand-Duke.

"Isn't my brother dead?" he said in confusion as he formed another fist, wondering if there was some way he could pay the House of Lexar back for their crimes and for the fact that they indirectly forced him down the path of Schwann Oltorain.

-A Little Later, Knight's HQ-

After returning to his temporary desk the First Captain regained his calm, having put what transpired to the back of his mind. "This job is boring" the man claimed, hoping that someone would enter the room to alleviate his boredom and hopefully his responsibility as well and as fate would have it someone knocked almost instantly.

"Come in" Schwann called out loudly gaining a response instantly as the door swung open, crashing into the wall forcing the Captain to jump out of his seat briefly.

"Sir Commandant I have returned from Yurzorea as per your request" a voice bellowed instantly, forcing the temporary protector of headquarters to cover his ears. "Wait, you're not the Commandant!" the voice then cried, making Schwann laugh loudly.

"Captain Julius am I glad to see you!" Schwann practically cried as he got to his feet and stared at the dirty blonde haired man who was built like a fortress.

Captain Julius was a large man, around six foot five in height and boasted a rather stocky, yet muscular frame which lacked any excess fat. His face was rather square, possessing a strong jaw line and a cleft chin. His eyes were a steely grey which helped highlight his experience, though his hair could indicate that too because it was already starting to unveil a few grey hairs amongst his buzz-cut.

"Schwann?" the man asked with a wide smile. "What are you doing here, did something happen in the ranks whilst I was away?" the rather dim, yet light-hearted Julius asked forcing a chuckle to escape Schwann's lips.

"No I just have to look after the city whilst the Commandant is away, that is until someone else can take over" Schwann suggested, instantly getting a response from the man who was four years his senior.

"Let me guess you want me to take over for you?" the Captain asked, gaining a hopeful nod from Schwann. "Well half of my brigade is back in Zaphias, the other half is still in Yurzorea awaiting you're subordinates to arrive" Julius said in almost an incriminating way, but Schwann knew the man better and could tell he was joking, mostly.

"I see, so if I get my brigade into gear you'll take over this?" Schwann asked gaining a wry smile from his friend.

"Exactly" Julius said with a large grin as he looked over his shoulder to spot his two Lieutenants whom he completely blocked from view with his large frame. "You two can come out you know" he joked, making them laugh awkwardly before walking to his side, eliciting a whistle from Schwann.

"I'm jealous Julius" Schwann said as he eyed the Aiheep twins. "Why is it only me who gets a brigade full of guys?" he complained childishly making the older man laugh loudly once again.

"Because all the men admire you" Julius replied honestly, clapping a strong hand onto Schwann's shoulder which made him squeak a little from pain. "Anyway I have something to ask" the Captain said with an almost serious tone which was hard to find since Julius was famous for being relatively happy-go-lucky.

"Yeah?" Schwann asked as he shrugged Julius hand off his shoulder.

"The Lower Quarter Renovation Plan, how'd it go down with the Council?" Julius asked with a hint of hopefulness in his voice.

"Rejected completely" Schwann answered with a level tone, bringing collective grimaces to all three members of the Julius Brigade.

"That's disappointing" Julius said as he placed a hand over his chest as if to touch his heart which was impossible because Julius much like Flynn wore metal plate armour adorned with the colours of his brigade which were yellow, white and red.

"Yeah" Schwann shared the sentiments of those present.

"I just hope Commandant Flynn doesn't take it too harshly" Julius commented, making the twin with the larger chest grimace even further.

"I don't think he will" Schwann lied as he cracked his neck to the side.

"Good" Julius said with a broad smile before slapping him on the shoulder again. "You should get going, tell your brigade their orders and then relieve yourself, you have that guild to get to don't you?" Julius said with a small smile, after all he was one of the handful of people who knew Raven and Schwann were the same person.

"Thanks" Schwann said with a smile as he walked past the three members of the brigade, winking at the girls as he escaped through the door and to the salvation that was his guild, Brave Vesperia.

-Later, Halure-

As Flynn walked through the town with a bag brimming with god knows what, he ran into his long-time friend whom he assumed was heading towards Estelle's house. "Yuri!" the Commandant shouted out, seizing the man's attention.

"Flynn?" the man asked as his faithful partner ran past his leg and over to the leader of the knights, sniffing the bag he was holding curiously. "What's in the bag?" Yuri asked curiously, one hand in his pocket as he stood still on the spot.

"Just materials for two Bodhi Blastia" Flynn said as he walked over to Yuri, holding the bag lower so Repede could sniff it some more.

"How'd you find them all in one day?" Yuri asked curiously because to his knowledge some of the items were very hard to come by.

"I have my sources" Flynn joked, making his friend chuckle in response. "Do you know where I can find Rita?" Flynn then asked as his friend yawned.

"Probably at Estelle's house" Yuri said as Repede returned to his side, suitably satisfied with whatever was in Flynn's bag.

"You mean the house you Estelle share?" Flynn openly teased, making the black-haired man's eye twitch as he spun on his heel and continued walking towards his destination, rather confident that Flynn was following behind.

"Enough with the jokes Flynn, you know it's not that way" Yuri said as Flynn caught up with him from behind but this only forced a smirk to appear on Flynn's face.

"Yeah sure whatever you say Yuri" Flynn voiced his disbelief as he reached the door of Estelle's house and knocked but before anybody could answer Yuri shuffled past his back and opened the door.

"Yuri!" an excited cry erupted from the princess's mouth as she dived at the man, wrapping her arms around him in a hug in typical Estelle fashion. "Oh and Flynn too!" she said as she peeked over Yuri's shoulder, making the Commandant laugh awkwardly as he walked past the hugging 'couple' only to spot his subordinate slouched in her seat tiredly and the genius mage crumpled face first on the sofa.

"What's all this?" Flynn asked as Sodia lifted her head wearily only to jolt up the instant she recognised that it was Flynn who'd entered the room. "Are you... okay?" Flynn followed up, earning a groan from Rita and a giggle from Estelle as Sodia attempted to get to her feet.

"Yes sir" Sodia said as energetically as possible which made the black haired man smile wryly as he attempted to dislodge the princess from his body.

"What happened here anyway Estelle?" Yuri asked as he too spied Rita crumpled face first on the sofa and a weary Sodia who had finally managed to get into a standing position as if by sheer willpower.

"Oh this?" Estelle stared, letting go of Yuri as she turned around and clasped her hands together. "We went shopping for Sodia's dress it was so much fun!" Estelle giggled happily as Rita groaned once more.

"_It must have been really difficult for them" _Yuri thought almost sympathetically as he walked over to the chair that Sodia had just vacated and sat himself down.

"Sir... I didn't want to..."

"That's great" Flynn said in response to Estelle, silencing the female knight instantly. "I was almost afraid that she'd go in her uniform if I'm honest" Flynn admitted with a large grin, not realising that it was Sodia's intention to do just that.

"Hehe" Estelle giggled as she turned to Sodia who was now smiling, somewhat glad that she'd taken the princess up on her offer. "You should see it for yourself it looks so good on her!" Estelle gushed which only served to embarrass the female knight.

"Oh no it's nothing too-"

"Really?" Flynn asked the princess who nodded her head excitedly as he turned to Sodia and met her eyes with his own. "I'm sure you'll look beautiful, I'm looking forward to it" Flynn said softly, smiling brightly as he did so, silencing the entire room in the process.

...

"Eh?" Sodia let out a strangled cry, cheeks reddening deeply as Rita's head jolted up from shock.

"_Did that sound like I thought it did?" _Rita's mind and eyes conveyed the same message as she turned to Yuri and Estelle who were all stunned quiet.

"Huh?" Flynn let out a confused sound as Estelle turned to him with a peculiar expression on her face, the same expression was present on Yuri and Rita's as well which confused him to no end. "Did I say something... strange?" Flynn asked as he turned to Sodia who was looking to the side, face completely illuminated with a crimson hue.

"Nothing at all Flynn" Yuri taunted as he filled the silence, confusing the young Commandant who was starting to redden from embarrassment.

"A-at any rate" Flynn stammered as he attempt to distract himself. "R-Rita here at the materials for the Blastia" he stuttered, dropping the bag of materials next to her, but she didn't look at them, instead she just stared at him with a sly smile on her face.

"W-What did I say?" Flynn asked only for Estelle to hum a flighty tune before grinning in his direction.

"Nothing" she chirped excitedly as she looked to Yuri and Rita, dispatching a message through eye-contact that they picked up instantly. "Does anyone need a drink?" Estelle offered suddenly and as if on cue Rita and Yuri shot up out of their seats.

"Let me help" they chorused much to Flynn's confusion and then before he knew it they were gone, leaving him and his Lieutenant alone in the room.

"D-Did I say something strange?" Flynn asked once more only for Sodia to look away shyly, her breathing loud and audible.

"N-Nothing at all s-s-s-sir" Sodia stammered loudly as he leant down and picked up the bag which contained her dress. "I-I need to be going, I have to put this in my room, I'll be back later" Sodia said extremely quickly as she practically dashed for the door, face bright red, leaving the Commandant confused as to what he'd done wrong.

"Way to go loverboy" Yuri taunted from the doorframe as Rita burst out laughing much to Flynn's embarrassment.

"What are you laughing at?" Flynn asked them, still genuinely confused but he got the same response once more.

"Nothing" they chimed before 'escaping' towards the kitchen leaving the Commandant perplexed as he sat down on the sofa, wondering why Sodia acted in such a manner.

"What did I say?"

Back at the Inn

As the female knight entered her room she realised that she was still bright red and it was humiliating for her. Never once in her life had she been called 'beautiful' because of her cold attitude towards most people she knew. So to have Flynn, the person she admired so much hint at such a thing was a shock to her.

"_Why is my heart beating so much?" _Sodia wondered as he shakily put a hand to her chest, noticing that it was beating even faster than she expected. _"Why would that affect me?" _she thought as she walked up to the mirror, noticing that she was still beet red.

"I'm a Knight before I'm a woman" she told her reflection as a strange smile which was so foreign to her reached her face. "He's just a kind person he didn't actually mean that, right?" Sodia asked herself, placing the dress on the bed before turning back to look at her shamefully blushing figure.

"Right?" she asked the mirror again and found herself hoping that he really did mean it, she didn't know why but she understood that Flynn had that effect over her. It was clear from the day he invited her for dinner in his office that he could make her react in such a way.

"Heh" she almost laughed, almost. She couldn't really contain her joy and that was the strangest thing about the feeling which seemed to warm her entire body, but she had to admit.

She did kind of like the feeling.

* * *

><p>(End Chapter)<p>

Wow this is by far the longest chapter and it's all because of you reviewers. I must say that it was quite enjoyable to write and I am very excited to say that this chapter marks the end of the 'calm' section of this fiction.

That's right, starting from next chapter the plot picks up and the events start unfolding, I showed you some of Raven's past and his connection with the House of Lexar which is briefly touched upon earlier in the story, I also introduced Captain Julius who is important later and finally there is one more mystery that I touched upon which is hiding in this chapter, try and find it if you want.

Anyway thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed, please do review because it makes me so much happier and gets me writing.

-Aquilon.


	13. Party of Disaster

Changing the World isn't Easy Chapter Thirteen

Ok guys we're here, the chapter where everything starts to happen, where the plot picks up and we get to witness action, it's quite an exciting prospect for me because I rarely reach the point in the story where all my build-up becomes worth it, from this point on Flynn and the gang go on the front-foot.

Party of Disaster

The eve of the gathering had arrived and though it took some effort most people knew their role and some people, primarily Yuri, had basic manners and etiquette drilled into them. In addition to this he was also taught how to 'dance' if you could call it that, without making a complete fool of himself.

"So let's go over this again" Flynn started exuding an aura of leadership as he eyed those who sat in Estelle's living room. "I am the main distraction in this mission" he informed the party which included Yuri, Rita and Sodia. Estelle on the other hand was in the kitchen making them drinks for what seemed to be the fiftieth time that day.

"Yeah I get that already" Yuri complained, knowing that the need for constant briefings was his short fuse and gung-ho attitude. "You distract whilst I blend into the background" Yuri said flippantly, waving his hand dismissively much to Sodia's disdain.

"Don't forget that you have to act courteous enough to not gain the ire of the guests Lowell" Sodia added sharply, not enjoying the man's laid back attitude to everything. "Can you even do that much?" Sodia asked, bringing a sly smile to the face of the genius mage who seemed to enjoy the constant warring between Flynn's favourite people.

"I'll be so courteous they'll think I'm one of them" Yuri ensured sarcastically with a fake nobleman's accent, eliciting a tiny snort from the mage and a tiny glare from the seasoned female knight.

"Yuri must you always take everything so easily?" Flynn admonished his friend sternly as he leant back and spied Estelle walking into the room with a tray in her hands.

"Yuri are you not listening to Flynn again?" Estelle asked as she walked in front of them all and placed their drinks on the table before seating herself between Rita and Yuri, practically snuggling herself into the latter's arm.

"No it's just he keeps going over things I already know!" Yuri cried defensively, making the pink haired princess giggle slightly, she enjoyed his childishness.

"Yuri just listen one last time okay?" Flynn conceded as he reached over to the table and picked up his drink, Sodia mirrored this action, eyes completely focused on Yuri who sighed in what seemed to be defeat.

"Fine" Yuri conceded, placing a lone foot on the low table in front of him, eliciting a matching sigh from Flynn.

"Anyway, I am the main distraction, you blend into the background" Flynn started for the final time. "Sodia you will watch the guards and tell me when they're gone, they're probably going to be doing shifts" Flynn told the woman who stared at her cup of coffee and nodded before taking a sip.

"Yuri you can't get to work straight away, disappearing instantly will be suspicious so you'll have to bear with it but I'm sure with Estelle at your side that you'll cope" Flynn said wryly, earning a huff from the former criminal and a smile from the princess.

"Estelle you should just try enjoying yourself and of course, keep Yuri out of trouble" Flynn joked, earning further ire from the black haired man who was getting sick of being the butt of all the jokes. "And with that, I guess all I can say is good luck" Flynn finished only for his subordinate to shake her head. Clearly she had a piece of information to share.

"The Magistrate's office is easily spotted, it has double doors and is on the right hand side of the building" Sodia said calmly in response to Flynn's visual cues to speak up, remembering how she was quickly caught by security when she herself tried to do some snooping.

"I'll keep that in mind" Yuri answered quickly as Flynn smiled, glad that Sodia was able to at least give Yuri some positive information for once. "So with that settled, when exactly are we leaving?" Yuri asked, gaining a collective sigh from everyone present, even Rita.

"Do you listen to anything?" Rita scolded much to the surprise of those present. "You're leaving in a few hours!" Rita continued angrily, confusing the world's hero.

"Woah! That soon?" Yuri asked smirking as Rita glared at him. "Hey what's got you so angry?" Yuri complained.

"Well I have been working to a deadline to get some Blastia ready you know!" Rita replied in frustration.

"How's that going anyway?" Flynn asked curiously earning a proud smile from the mage.

"They're nearly done, give me an hour or so" the mage informed, beaming with pride as she got to her feet and skulked out of the room ending the meeting as she did so.

"I best get ready" Yuri said in response, practically letting everyone know that he had nothing packed as he got to his feet and walked up the stairs, leaving everyone wondering the same thing as he disappeared.

Are we going to be able to pull this off?

- Outside Estelle's house three hours later-

Though it was a rushed job, Yuri managed to be packed for the overnight stay in Capua Nor. As the man stood side by side with Rita, Estelle and Repede the Commandant and his adjutant walked towards them, having just collected their bags from the Inn.

"So Rita, remember to water the flowers whilst I'm away" Estelle told the young woman who looked away bashfully, feeling embarrassed that she had to be reminded of such things.

"Oh and make sure you feed Repede" Yuri cut in afterwards. It was a last minute decision and whilst he was reluctant he knew that Repede would spend the majority of the time on his own and besides he liked Rita so he wasn't too against the idea himself.

"Woof!" the dog barked to Rita, as if reminding her of that small fact as well.

"Yeah yeah I've got it" Rita said flippantly as the two knights reached them. "About time" Rita complained as she walked up to them, holding out a ring and a peculiar metal wiring with red orbs at its corners. "The ring is for Sodia, the wiring can be imbedded into your uniform" Rita told the blonde haired man as he took both from her hands, handing the ring to Sodia.

"Thank you Rita" Flynn said gratefully, opening one of his bags and placing the wiring inside gently before handing Sodia the ring.

"Thanks..." Sodia copied her superior albeit a little awkwardly as she slipped the ring onto her finger.

"Don't mention it" Rita batted down their words quickly as she placed her hands on her hips. "I doubt you'll need them for a while anyway" she yawned, which made the Commandant wonder if she'd pulled an all-nighter to get them finished.

"Oh Rita once again I'm sorry that you can't come" Estelle apologised to her friend for what seemed to be the fifth time in the last two days.

"I've told you Estelle I'm fine, I have a thesis I'm working on anyway" Rita nonchalantly assured her best friend, yawning once more as Yuri and Flynn picked up everyone's bags and placed them inside the carriage they'd be taking the Capua Nor. "Now get going so I can get some sleep" Rita urged in an 'angry' manner gaining a pout from the princess.

"All right" Estelle conceded almost sadly, hugging Rita much against her will as the rest of the party climbed into the carriage. "I'll see you in a few days" Estelle told both Rita and Repede in an almost motherly tone before joining her friends in the carriage.

As the carriage started to move away Rita grinned mischievously and with a rather strained and tired voice shouted "remember it's a mission not a date!" and by the sound of the thud that followed she knew they got her message.

Once the carriage was out of sight Rita shrugged and turned to Repede who kept low to the floor, already donning an expression of loneliness. "Well I guess it's just you and me dog" Rita said in an attempt to sound at least partially enthusiastic, petting him on the head before walking towards Estelle's house smiling as she heard a low, almost happy pant as she opened the door.

-Flynn and Yuri's room, Night of the Gathering-

"You know what, I'm regretting this already" Yuri complained as he finished dressing himself up in the outfit Ioder had specially designed for him, which was said to make him look like a true-knight. The outfit was primarily black but possessed a grey, stripped undershirt, a strange gold and black jacket which formed a shield shape and a short red mantle for his jacket and his black trousers, accompanying this were silver greaves with a gold design.

"Pfft" Flynn stifled a laugh as he stared at his childhood friend who'd went as far to tie his hair back to form a single pony tail. "Wow Yuri, are you sure you're not of noble blood?" Flynn teased as he fought a losing battle with his laughter.

"Ha-ha very funny" an unimpressed Yuri sighed, sitting down on his bed in the room he shared with Flynn. "Why do you get to wear your Commandant uniform and I have to wear _this_" Yuri's complained, his dissatisfaction seeping into his tone making him sound like a grumpy teenager.

"It's the perfect way to draw attention, I'm not only a commoner but I also hold the most esteemed rank in the knights" Flynn said with a hint of pride. "It'll command respect amongst some lower nobles and single me out in the crowd" Flynn continued as he finished putting on his gauntlets.

"Are you sure you can move fine in that though?" Yuri asked as he kicked his legs impatiently much like a bored child.

"What do you think?"

"You can?" Yuri replied with a bored sigh, earning a nod from the Commandant.

"Regardless this'll work, trust me"

"Will do Mr. Perfect" his friend replied, swinging the scabbard of his sword back and forth to alleviate his boredom.

"Don't tell me you're bringing that with you?" a shocked Flynn asked as Yuri raised his eyebrow.

"What I can't?" a genuinely surprised Yuri asked.

"You can't walk into something like this with a sword dangling from a string in your hands Yuri" Flynn scolded, face palming at his friends stupidity.

"I'm not going in there without a weapon" Yuri argued as he swung the sword onto the bed. "You can't expect me to go in there without a chance to protect myself can you?" Yuri asked.

"This isn't the coliseum you know? Hordes of monsters aren't just going to swarm out of the doors every few minutes" Flynn explained in a serious manner.

"I'm not going in without my sword" Yuri held firm, it wasn't because he anticipated a fight it was just he didn't feel right without his sword.

"Fine" Flynn conceded much to the ex-criminal's disbelief. "Truth be told I did think this might happen" Flynn revealed, having originally hoped to dissuade his best friend. "If you're going in with a sword make sure it hangs from your hip, otherwise even those clothes won't make you blend in" Flynn explained as he knelt down next to the bed, pulling out a 'Real Knight Sword' before throwing it to him.

"Hm what's this?" Yuri murmured with disinterest.

"I keep an extra sword with me when I travel, just in case" Flynn revealed as Yuri unsheathed the blade, whistling in awe, it truly was a splendid weapon. "Take that with you, leave your normal sword here, it'll make you look more... knightly instead of a hardened criminal" Flynn partially mocked earning a small glare from the ex-vigilante.

"Fine" Yuri conceded, affixing the new sword to his hip as he scowled at nothing in particular, he hated to leave the sword he received from Estelle behind but he thought he could last for one night. "Done, better?" Yuri asked as he finished with the adjustment, earning a nod from his childhood friend. "Good, I'll be outside waiting for the girls to get dressed, see ya" he said as he walked out the door leaving the blonde all alone in the room, once again asking the question.

"Are we really going to be able to pull this off?"

-Sodia and Estelle's Room-

Whilst getting ready may of been a lax job for the childhood friends it was anything but for the mismatched duo of the girly princess and the serious knight. "Please Sodia will you just come out of the bathroom?" the princess begged as she stood outside of the room which Sodia had barricaded herself in.

"No!" an embarrassed and ashamed voice cried back forcing a pout to don the features of the dressed up princess.

Estelle's outfit was strikingly similar to the one she wore on that fateful day, the day she met Yuri in the castle during their mutual breakout. The torso of the aqua blue dress was backless, possessing long white sleeves with golden embroidery highlighting the edges to make them eye-catching to the beholder. The full-length skirt followed this colour scheme whilst possessing the same golden lining to give it a distinctly elegant look.

Accompanying the dress was an aqua blue choker, gold hooped earrings with large rubies at their centre and aqua blue heels which matched the dress perfectly. "Please, I'm sure you look wonderful" Estelle coaxed softly as she took a step back and sat herself on the edge of the bed.

"No I don't. I look, I..." Sodia replied hesitantly in a soft tone unbecoming of her usual stern and cool self.

"You look what?" Estelle queried curiously, learning forward from her position on the bed.

"I don't know" Sodia admitted, she was used to wearing a dress when her father had paraded her to his friends when she was a child, but for some reason it felt astronomically more important than before and thus she was uncharacteristically hesitant.

"Show me" Estelle requested in a soft, calm and more importantly, understanding tone.

A click followed Estelle's words as the knob of the door turned and flung open unveiling a very flushed Sodia who seemed to find the sink so interesting that she focused solely on it.

A large silence followed, unnerving the female knight who felt like slamming the door shut and encasing herself back in her armour. "A-Amazing" Estelle stuttered in admiration, she looked so much better than she did in the dress shop that it was genuinely astonishing.

Sodia stood in front of the princess wearing a full-length sleeveless dress which possessed only one strap which looped over her right shoulder leaving the viewer with a nice eyeful of Sodia's lightly tanned skin. The torso itself was striking on the eye, light pink in colour and tight yet modest showing zero cleavage. The skirt in contrast was a dark crimson and billowed out deliciously giving an aura of nobility to the woman who was the daughter of a baron.

Much like Estelle Sodia wore heels, this time crimson in colour. Final touches to the outfit included long pink gloves which went passed the elbows and a pink shawl to cover her bare back. She also wore thin gold necklace and her Blastia which was located on the index finger of her right hand.

"I-I'm jealous" Estelle admitted shamefully as she looked at her own reflection, feeling as if she could of put in more effort.

"Really?" a tone which oozed with pride escaped Sodia's lips as she formed a small smile. She didn't know why but she _wanted _to look good, it was a funny feeling for the woman who usually felt that anything but armour was too skimpy.

"Yes..." a slightly despondent Estelle replied as she looked away with a pout on her face. "I should have brought something better..." Estelle followed up with increased negativity, it wasn't that she looked bad, heavens forbid. It was just a mixture of Estelle's modesty and Sodia's jaw-dropping appearance taking fold.

"N-No don't say that Lady Estellise you look so much better" a bashful Sodia demanded, accidently speaking respectfully which was a sort of taboo around the princess.

"Estelle"

"Estelle then" Sodia continued, mentally face palming as she finally stepped into the room. "I can always get back into my uniform if it makes you happy" Sodia suggested quietly, as if she really didn't want to do that but would out of duty.

"No don't do that... I'm fine" Estelle said unconvincingly, unnerving the female knight who was not used to jealousy, especially when it involved looks.

"Estelle... maybe we should just get going?" a hesitant Sodia suggested, her confidence about her appearance sky high after Estelle's words.

"Yes, let's" a now embarrassed Estelle said as she walked to the door and exited, eliciting a weird sigh from the female knight who followed in suit.

-Hallway/Towards the Manor-

The meeting between the two sexes was rather anti-climactic for Estelle. In her many romance novels, the meeting before the dance would always result in mutual compliments, where the 'prince' would take the princess by the hand and tell her how beautiful she looked, this is what she wanted, instead it ended up turning into a scene where she was constantly trying to stop herself from saying and doing embarrassing things.

It started with an accidental slip of the tongue, where she ended up practically purring in delight at Yuri, this was because unknown to anyone but her best friend Rita, Estelle had a massive 'fetish' or more delicately put, interest, in knights.

Following this embarrassing display she tried to put things right by apologising, but that only resulted in her somehow snuggling herself against Yuri's chest which made her face turn hot as fire, especially amongst the laughter of Flynn, what she didn't know what that Yuri was also feeling a little heat from Estelle's displays of affection.

Things didn't particularly go well for Sodia either, in fact moments after Flynn's outburst of laughter he was silent, mainly because Sodia was giving him a sort of look that said 'praise me' whilst at the same time said 'I'm pissed off at you.'

The reason for this was simple, unlike her who had to dress up; Flynn was allowed to don his knight's uniform which was far from what she was expecting. So this left her wondering if she should be mad at him, or ask him what he thought of her outfit.

Flynn tried to explain to her that it was because his outfit would attract much more attention than anything else, but Sodia was having none of it, that is until he bashfully complimented her on her outfit, which made her flush a bright crimson before dropping the subject completely, seemingly content with his words.

Unfortunately this all culminated into a very awkward carriage ride which they'd taken due to the unexpected downpour which had ensued throughout the entire day.

"So... is everyone ready for the plan?" Flynn asked, earning a light nod from Sodia, a shrug from Yuri and a... blissful sigh from Estelle who was sitting next to Yuri, head on his shoulder, yes she was sure 'knight-Yuri' was going to be around more often, she'd make sure of it.

"Uhh... great... Sodia you remember everything right?" Flynn asked awkwardly, it wasn't that he didn't trust her, or anyone in the carriage, he was just feeling strange and needed to fill the void.

"Of course sir..." Sodia replied, heart beating like a drum when she remembered Flynn's awkward compliment. "Lowell do you remember?" Sodia followed up, deciding to push the feeling of unease onto the ex-criminal.

"Yeah, yeah I get it, everyone stop hassling me about it already" Yuri complained, eliciting yet another dreamlike sigh from Estelle which heaped some embarrassment onto Yuri.

"Hey I was just-" Sodia was getting ready to complain when Flynn raised a hand.

"Ok calm down you two before you really start fighting" Flynn stopped them instantly, sighing in relief that they actually listened, granted both of them looked their separate ways like angry children, it was at this moment that Flynn realised that Sodia and Yuri probably conflicted so much because they were rather similar.

It was also at this moment where he asked the same question he'd been asking for a while now.

"Are we really going to be able to pull this off?"

-Magistrate's Manor-

As the four stepped out the carriage, avoiding the rain by getting out directly under large stone porch, they were met with the sight of the elderly Magistrate himself who had taken it upon himself to greet each and every one of his guests.

"Ah you've arrived Commandant, and I see you've brought guests, how splendid" he chirped with delight, eyes settling on both of the women. "Ah you're that spirited woman from before yes?" he asked Sodia who almost glared at him. "You look like a right proper lady, yes how it should be" he continued, almost making the female knight growl, that is before she noticed Flynn who was shaking his head furiously.

"T-thank you" Sodia replied, masking her disgust at his attitude with fake embarrassment, she tended to forget that those from a later generation tended to forget that women could become knights, get a job and support themselves without the help of loving husband.

"No worries my dear" he followed up as he turned to Estelle "ah and I see you've come as well, it's lovely to see you again princess" the elderly man rasped, earning a small, soft smile from the woman which he took exceedingly well, yes Estelle was the perfect kind of woman in his eyes.

"Thank you Magistrate, I am glad to be here" Estelle replied politely with a small bow which impressed the man who respected good manners and a proper upbringing.

Once he was done conversing with Estelle he finally turned to Yuri, unlike with the others present he had no idea who Yuri was, probably because his wanted posters were ridiculous and he'd never really met face to face with the man. "Who exactly is this?" the Magistrate asked Flynn instead of speaking to Yuri directly, he knew it was contradictory towards his own standard of manners but Yuri oozed the impression that he didn't want to be there.

"This is Yuri Lowell" Flynn replied instantly, making the Magistrate's eyes widen in shock.

"Y-You mean the man who kidnapped the princess and murdered Lord Ragou and Captain Cumore?" the Magistrate stuttered a whisper to Flynn who shook his head.

"Some of those crimes have been falsely attributed to him, in fact he is the man who saved Terca Lumereis from the Adephagos and rescued Princess Estellise" Flynn corrected the man in a hushed whisper. "In fact he's just accepted the rank 'Paladin of the Zaphian Empire' making him technically a noble" Flynn finished, eliciting a gasp from the elderly man.

"You mean he's been accepted by Emperor Ioder as Zaphias' most gallant son?" he whispered earning a small, proud nod from the Commandant. "Oh my, this will surely make the evening more festive, thank you for bringing him" the Magistrate said out loud, annoying Yuri immensely.

"Now please go inside and enjoy yourselves" the Magistrate said earning nods from all four as they headed to the door. "Good luck" he whispered cryptically as they entered the building a small, hopeful smile on his face as he followed them.

-Inside the Manor-

As the two 'couples' entered they were met with a young man, probably around nineteen years of age, he stood in front of them diligently as the Magistrate entered from behind and walked up to him, whispering something into his ear before walking back to the entrance.

"Sorry about that, it's just a custom" the man apologised to the guests but couldn't keep his eyes off Sodia or Estelle, something that annoyed Flynn more than it did Yuri, mainly because Yuri was concentrating more on the fact that Estelle was attempted to 'sneakily' link arms with him, something that he allowed after a moment of teasing.

"Please follow me" he continued, turning around and walking at a relatively fast pace, Flynn turned to Sodia for a moment who nodded at him, clearly this was a tradition, Flynn didn't know it though because he rarely went to such upper class gatherings.

After weaving through multiple hallways the man stopped in front of a large door. "Could you please stand in line?" the man requested, making Flynn and Yuri turn their heads in confusion, luckily for them the two women knew what to do and guided them into place, Sodia bravely linking arms with Flynn at the front as she did so, behind them were Yuri and Estelle.

"So I'm assuming you're Commandant Flynn Scifo and Lieutenant Sodia Valeria?" the man asked earning a nod from them in unison. "Good" he smiled, opening the door revealing the large, luxurious room where everyone had gathered, most of which were conversing amicably, some others were dancing to the classical music which was being played by the live band.

The 'couples' were currently outside above the main staircase which would lead down into the room which sported chessboard marble flooring, exquisite statues and many forms of 'rare art' which only those of the upper-class truly appreciate. On the far side of the hall was another staircase which lead towards the right wing of the manor and was Yuri's destination later on in the night.

"Ahem" the man cleared his voice as he stepped into the room, standing next to the top step of the staircase which had a red carpet leading right down the centre. "Noblemen and Women" the man announced in a loud, yet delicate manner seizing everyone's attention, including Captain Michael Lexar and Magistrate Augustus Léron of Heliord.

"Please welcome our guests, Commandant of the Imperial Knights Flynn Scifo and Lieutenant Sodia Valeria" he announced as the two walked to the top of the staircase, earning reluctant applause from some of the higher nobility and much more prominent applause from some of the lower members, Michael on the other hand chose not to for he would have to put his wine glass down.

"Just smile" Sodia said as they stepped onto the first step, making them more noticeable to the crowd which was obvious from the astounded noises which came from the male contingent of the room.

"That's all from you I assure you Sodia" Flynn said as they continued to go down the stairs. "The reason I can bring my Commandant's outfit is because you'll draw in all those who don't care with your beauty" Flynn said calmly, not really noticing what he was saying, Sodia on the other hand turned a crimson similar to that of her dress.

"_W-W-Wha" _Sodia's mind screamed as they reached the bottom step and walked into the crowd earning looks of admiration from men and women alike, Sodia didn't notice though because her mind was currently having a meltdown. _"Beauty... me?" _

"Why hello there Commandant" a man in his late forties approached them, eyes focused on Sodia the entire time which made her feel odd and disgusted, the complete opposite than how she felt when Flynn looked at her.

"Good afternoon sir" he replied courteously as a few more people approached, all wanting to get a look at Sodia and Flynn, as this occurred Captain Lexar watched from a distance, green eyes filled with loathing.

"Filthy commoner" he whispered under his breath as he took a sip of his wine, eyes turning to the staircase afterwards as the Magistrate descended, this made him assume that all the guests had arrived, something which amused him, because in typical commoner fashion Flynn had been late, which only highlighted how out of place he was.

Yet this was far from the truth for there was one more reveal to be made, one he surely wasn't going to be pleased about.

"Noblemen and Women" the announcer said once more, seizing everybody's attention, they too were surprised that somebody else had arrived, the most important guests usually came in last when a group arrived after all, so who could be more important than the Commandant?

"We are joined tonight by two much esteemed guests" the announcer followed continued, making Michael's ears perk up curiously as he brought the glass to his lips once more. "Please welcome, Princess Estellise Sidos Heurassein" he continued, making the crowd gasp and Michael's eyebrow to rise, he wanted to know who was worthy to be spoken of in tandem with a princess.

"And her date for the night, who I can inform you has just been announced as the Paladin of the Zaphian Empire" he continued, making Michael's eye twitch, he wanted that title. "Mr. Yuri Lowell!" he finished emphatically, forcing each and every noble's jaws to drop as Yuri and Estelle walked to the top of the stairs, looking almost like a princess and her private knight.

"Remember the plan Yuri" Estelle whispered as she daintily waved to the stunned crowd who began clapping, almost wildly.

"Do I have to?"

"If you want to blend in, yes" she giggled as he sighed, quickly replacing his apathetic expression with a fake, yet convincing smile.

"If you will Princess Estellise" he said shakily as they began to descend the steps slowly, everybody's eyes, included an infuriated Michael's fixated on them, they looked almost perfect together, something that astounded yet appalled them at the same time.

As continued to walk down, Yuri and Estelle made eye-contact with enough people as possible, a few women from lower nobility even deemed it acceptable to swoon at Yuri which made him feel repulsed and almost like a betrayer to all those in the Lower Quarter.

As the couple reached the final step, Yuri enacted 'the plan' which Estelle whispered into his ear when they watched Flynn and Sodia descend. First of all they unlinked their arms and then Yuri seized Estelle's hand with his own before stepping onto the marbled floor, standing in front of her before guiding her down the final step like a knight from one of Estelle's fairy tales which almost made her squeal with delight, yup she loved knightly-Yuri.

*Smash* the sound of something shattering into a thousand pieces captured some of the crowd's attention as they turned to a fuming Michael who, in his rage, had obliterated his wine glass, allowing the contents to drip onto the floor. "Sorry, it was an accident" he apologised to those who looked at him, but most of the crowd were still fixated on the princess and the rather handsome commoner.

"That was very gentleman like Yuri" Estelle swooned as she linked arms with the man once more, forcing a blush onto his face.

"I'm not doing it again" he quipped making her giggle with delight as people began to approach them. "Nobles sure love their fancy parties" he mumbled as somebody started to try and make small-talk with him, but seeing as Yuri wasn't interested, Estelle did it for him.

"Don't act like that Yuri, it'll be fun" Estelle whispered as the man who'd begun to talk with them turned to his wife.

"It's fun for you because you're used to it, heck I'm not even sure I'm allowed to eat that food over there" Yuri complained as his eyes caught sight of the delicious looking banquet on the other side of the hall.

"You want to eat?" she asked almost in surprise.

"I wouldn't mind" Yuri whispered and the woman smiled and looked up at him. "Just follow my lead then" she informed him which made him scoff.

"Hey aren't I supposed to be the one doing that kind of stuff?" he joked, earning a soft laugh from the princess, people who saw this seemingly backed off, not wanting to interfere with them.

"I don't mind either way" she sighed blissfully as she placed her head against his arm, calming him instantly as a small blush reached his face. "Yuri, what is it?" she asked curiously as he looked away.

"It's nothing" he lied when in actuality he had just come to realize that Estelle always had some kind of weird affect on his actions... and it kind of worried him for some reason.

-Later on-

Flynn had been doing his end of the bargain perfectly. During one of the many conversations he'd had already he made multiple slips of the tongue, sometimes mentioning things about life in the Lower Quarter to not having enough money to pay for food, subjects which nobles wouldn't be caught dead participating in.

On each of these occasions Sodia would lie that Flynn just wasn't used to 'these' sort of parties, feeling ashamed and annoyed at the laughter that would result. It repulsed her that people would look down on the greatest man in Zaphias, perhaps even the world, just because he had an upbringing that wasn't elitist.

Flynn however didn't mind, perhaps everybody who grew up poor had that kind of thick skin. Sometimes he even laughed along with them, making sarcastic, yet witty comments to Sodia whenever she mentioned his 'deficiency' at such parties which lowered his 'stock' amongst the guests but that just made him more and more noticeable, which meant he was performing his role expertly.

As Flynn performed his role, Yuri played his own, he was to be conspicuous and 'invisible' unfortunately there was one person in the room who he just couldn't act congenially with and that was Captain Michael Lexar, who after overcoming his original disgust, approached him and Estelle.

"Good afternoon Princess and of course you too Yuri" he greeted, the latter more informally much to Yuri's disgust and Estelle's curiosity.

"And you are?" Estelle asked.

"He's Michael Lexar, a captain of the Knights" Yuri will introduce in a low growl, he hated Michael, it was just something about him, he was... definitely not a good person, Yuri could sense it.

"He's correct Princess" Michael responded, bowing respectfully to the woman as he eyed Yuri's sword. "I see you brought your sword with you... though it's a little different than before" Michael stated with interest.

"I just can't be without one" Yuri commented honestly.

"Neither can I" he replied, tipping his own sword before smiling. "I see we aren't too different, we're even similar like this" Lexar commented jokingly whilst practically heaving inside his mind where they couldn't hear him.

"We're nothing alike Lexar" Yuri shot down such an outrageous claim in an instant, true anger in his tone which took Estelle by surprise.

"Yuri?" Estelle chided softly, calming the man somewhat.

"Sorry" he apologised as he looked Michael in the eyes before spotting the bruising around his nose, smiling with amusement. "I see you're still sporting injuries after that fight" Yuri commented proudly making the knights captain smile.

"What did you do Yuri?" Estelle asked 'threateningly.'

"Oh Princess don't blame him, we were having a duel, this was a natural consequence" Michael covered for the man, if only to make him seem like a nice man to Estelle, he couldn't have royalty looking down on him, after all he was a part of the proud House of Lexar.

"Ah I see" Estelle sighed, glad that Yuri wasn't getting into too many fights; she knew fighting was unavoidable so she wanted them to be at least few in number.

"To become a Paladin is quite an honour, I'd even be tempted to take it over my own noble rank" the captain continued. "Oh but that's _another _matter" he finished, jealousy coating his words like poison.

"It's actually Free-Paladin, but I don't mind what it's called either way" Yuri revealed with a shrug of the shoulders, voice showing impatience, he honestly disliked Michael from his core and he couldn't figure out why.

"I see... either way it's irrelevant" Michael concluded. "I would like to duel you again in the future if you would deem it fit" Michael then went on a tangent. Clearly his ego was bruised more than his nose.

"One day, maybe" Yuri conceded, knowing that he'd love to beat him up once more.

"Fantastic!" Michael exclaimed before bowing to Estelle once more. "I'm very sorry but I must leave now, Yuri, Princess Estellise it's been an honour" he finished respectfully before turning on his heel and walking away, a smile on his face, it seemed it was his intention to get another fight with Yuri all along.

"He's a nice man" Estelle chimed naively.

"Yeah... nice guy" he answered her unconvincingly.

"Yuri?"

"It's nothing, how about you show me what else to do" he quickly changed the subject, looking over towards the banquet which he had still yet to touch.

"I'm sure you're hungry" she giggled, earning a nod from Yuri who was staring across the room, eyeing Lexar, wondering why he felt as if he had to stop him before he'd even done something.

-Two Hours Later-

As time went by Yuri was beginning to feel rather jittery, no it wasn't because he was acting immature and wanted to get his job over with, it was because the dancing had just begun and he was performing terribly, he couldn't dance and Estelle's guidance didn't particularly make things any better, especially since she insisted on being as close to Yuri's body as possible.

His form was inelegant, the sheer opposite of his fighting. He was clumsy and unable to co-ordinate well, this was met with amusement by Lexar who'd taken his time to watch from a distance, eyes focused solely on Yuri, luckily however he was the only person who focused on Yuri, truth be told he didn't stand out too much.

In contrast Sodia and Flynn were much more elegant, but still kind of robotic. Both could dance but Sodia was freezing up, it was almost to the point where he felt he might have to reprimand her for it. "Sodia is everybody watching us?" Flynn asked.

"Yes, your role as the fool was perfect" Sodia practically growled, angry that he had to demean himself just so Yuri wouldn't stick out. Her 'exalted' leader did not deserve such a thing.

"Hey don't be like that it's for the mission" Flynn 'scolded' picking up on her anger instantly.

"I know... I just dislike it"

"I know Sodia" Flynn replied as he looked side to side. "Is the hall clear yet?" Flynn whispered as he moved Sodia close, making her flush slightly.

"Y-Yes" she stuttered after peeking up at the opposite staircase, it was completely empty.

"Perfect" Flynn whispered as he directed himself and Sodia towards Yuri and Estelle, once they were next to each other his energetic eyes turned serious. "I'm ready now, you should get into position Yuri" Flynn whispered as they crossed paths, seconds later the music stopped and everybody separated and began to clap except for Yuri who eyed the upper balcony.

"Sorry Estelle, I did actually enjoy myself a little because of you" Yuri quickly apologised as he smiled down on her, making her beam a satisfied smile in return, glad that her own actions could make even Yuri enjoy such an environment. "I might be back, but goodbye for now just in case" Yuri explained, Estelle understanding where he was coming from gave him a quick hug and whispered 'good luck.'

Meanwhile as Yuri separated from the crowd, Flynn winked at the band on the other side of the room, the man at the front nodded, much to the relief of the commandant who lied that he wanted a specifically fast song for the woman he was with.

"Sodia, once the music starts I expect you to perform perfectly, understand?" Flynn informed in a commanding tone, much like the one he used when they went on missions during his knight pilgrimage, when he was still a mere upstart powering his way up the ranks.

"Yes sir, of course!" Sodia replied with a tone mirroring her iron resolve, her spirit invigorated with confidence by his voice.

"I'm glad" Flynn smiled sincerely, making her blush once more.

Mere moments later the music started, an upbeat, fast tempo which forced more dramatic, accentuated movements, as the knight couple's hands met Sodia entered a 'mode' of absolute focus. Since she was a young girl her father had trained her to perform at parties, she knew how to dance, and with the commandant's expectations on her shoulders she felt she'd be able to deliver.

As the duo got into the groove they became the centre of attention, everybody turned to them with looks of amazement, for a commoner and a woman of lower nobility to show such graceful acts was surely mind blowing. This distraction was enough for Yuri to climb the staircase and make his way down the hall, unfortunately he was spotted by one person, that's right, Michael Lexar.

"Where's that commoner going?" Michael growled in confusion, moments later it hit him and his eyes went wide. "Damn" he cursed, looking side to side for anybody, he couldn't make a scene and he couldn't do anything by himself after all, that would just make him seem suspicious and he couldn't risk that.

Unfortunately anyone he could have told was gone, all focused on Flynn and Sodia who flowed gracefully across the dance floor, inducing sounds of astonishment from the crowd which had gathered, Michael wasn't sure if they'd planned this or if it was just a coincidence, but he knew his chance to shame Yuri and stop him was slowly flowing down the drain.

-Magistrate's Office-

As Yuri entered the office he was instantly met with the sight of a numerous bookcases, trophies, pictures and more importantly a large mahogany desk that sat at the end of the room, behind which was a set of double doors that led onto the balcony.

"...The sea is incredibly close to the manor" Yuri murmured half-heartedly as he inspected the view, the only thing stopping anyone was the metal fencing which blocked people's way. "That's unimportant for now" Yuri quickly chided his short attention span as he walked to the desk and began to inspect it, spotting a letter opener and a paraffin lamp resting atop it.

First he checked the drawers but they were surprisingly empty, zero content, not even a stray pen or anything. From there he moved to a shelf adjacent to the desk, eyes quickly flittering over to a picture which showed two men, one of which looked like a more refined version of his guild's second-in-command, Raven and whilst he found it odd he paid it no heed.

"If there's anything he must be hiding it in secret" Yuri murmured then an idea hit him. "Hey don't desks usually have secret compartments and stuff?" Yuri asked, after all whilst it wasn't a desk, he used to hide things under a loose floorboard back at the knight academy.

So with this in mind Yuri crouched down underneath the desk and started inspecting it carefully, running his hands all over it. It seemed as if he came up empty and he was about to call his search off until he felt a slot which kind of felt like a keyhole. "...Bingo" he grinned and unsheathed his sword, slashing the underside of the desk.

-Back in the Hall-

As Flynn and Sodia continued their fluidic dance, Michael searched around frantically for a guard, finally finding the ones which had just started their new shift. "Finally" he muttered, running up to them. "Somebody walked off and is now walking around the premises, could you please get him" he said 'calmly' making the two guard's eyes widen in shock.

"Right away!" the two mercenaries cried in unison as they turned and ran off, the Magistrate saw this and grimaced, clearly he was annoyed that the jig was already up, metaphorically that is.

"Those two are amazing"

"I wouldn't expect less from the leader of knights"

"Didn't you call him lowborn scum earlier?"

"Silence woman!"

Many different comments were circulating the hall and they all focused on the same thing, Flynn and Sodia. As the music started to end Flynn smiled down at Sodia who was still 'concentrating' on the dance, moving just like her father had taught her, but inwardly she was embarrassed and slightly enthralled that Flynn was the one sharing it with her. She knew however that nothing could last forever and unfortunately that applied for the dance because with one last rise the music stopped she leant back, finishing in a pose which if she was of sound mind would have made her worried that people could see up her skirt.

A rapturous applause followed, echoing off the walls as Flynn pulled Sodia towards him so she was upright once more. "That was perfect, well done Sodia" he whispered into her ear, bringing her out of 'mission-mode' forcing her to turn bright red at how close their faces were together, eventually resulting in her yelping like a startled animal, backing away quickly, heart beating excitedly, unsure if she was actually in 'mission-mode' or just completely captivated by Flynn the entire time.

-Magistrate's Office-

Yuri had struck gold with his search, in his hand lay the diary of the Magistrate and if he was to be honest he was kind of proud that he detected it. "Well let's have a lookie here" he muttered sarcastically to himself, flipping the pages open, eyes instantly hitting something interesting.

'_Today I had to deceive two guildsman one the son of a lifelong friend. Damuron has turned out well just like his father he's quite a conversationalist too, even Maximillion would be proud. It's sad that I have to partake in this sickening display that goes against sheer human decency, but of course, I've even been invited to the auction, it's atrocious, but I have no choice in the matter it seems...'_

"Auction?!" he growled, pretty confident on what the goods being auctioned were. "So they were did come fro... what was that?" Yuri stopped himself quickly, ears perking at a sound which was reminiscent of steel weapons, he wasn't sure but he guessed he'd been found out.

"Yup I'm cursed" Yuri said as the double doors flew open, revealing two men dressed in leather armour, Crossbows held aloft, aiming directly at him. "Shit!" Yuri grunted, instinctively flipping the desk onto its side with a firm kick, throwing himself under it at the same time as two steel bolts let rip, easily piercing the wooden desk, one grazing his hand opening up a deep wound.

"Argh damn!" he screamed as the sound of reloading reached his ears, he knew he had to do something fast especially since the men had now walked through the entrance. "Well here goes nothing" Yuri sighed, grabbing the letter cutter which had fallen onto the floor before throwing it and much to his luck it stabbed one of the men in the arm, making him drop his crossbow.

That however didn't particularly save him because the other man was ready to unleash at point-blank range. "Goodbye Lowell" the man sneered and Yuri would have wondered why he knew his name but the situation didn't really grace him the time to do so, he knew using his sword at this range was useless so he resorted to a different tactic.

"Goodbye to you more like" Yuri growled, kicking the desk with full power, sending it hurtling into the man's face.

Now with his original escape route blocked and little time before the guard got back up he knew he only had one option, so with a quick slash of his sword he shattered the window that lead to the balcony. "This is near suicidal" Yuri remarked as he heard the guard get to his feet.

"See ya" Yuri taunted, running into the rain as he dived off the balcony and everything was going well until... another bolt was fired and this time unluckily for him it hit its target. "Fuck!" screamed as he flew through the air, the pain of a bolt in the arm forcing him to move his legs erratically, making him drop at a faster rate, if he didn't do something fast he was going to hit the ground and that would be the end.

"Arghh!" he roared, trying to ignore the pain as he reached out, luckily grabbing hold of the metal fencing as he originally intended, unfortunately the bolt in the arm had dramatically sapped most of its strength, he was a sitting duck.

The man reloaded once more and walked onto the balcony, readying his aim, but it was difficult due to the heavy downpour.

"I can't go into the courtyard, they'll catch me" Yuri grunted, his ability to think not clouded too much by the stinging pain in his arm. "This leaves me with one choice" he grimaced as he stared out at the sea which was particularly rough today because of the storm. "It's going to be another Zaude isn't it" Yuri joked with himself almost sadistically as he pulled himself up the metal fencing, luckily dodging the jagged tips as he got onto the other side.

But then disaster struck. Another bolt came surging from the balcony, slashing Yuri's hand once more, making him drop quickly and without any proper grip his left eye was dragged across the spiked top, forcing blood to burst out of it.

"Arghh!" he let out a strangled roar, left arm flailing out to keep hold of the fencing. He was blinded in one eye, at least he thought he was, it scared him and yes even the great Yuri Lowell got scared at times.

The man on the balcony reloaded for a final time, aim locked on, he was sure he was going to kill the infamous criminal but that was called short but the man's 'moment of madness.'

Yuri had somehow managed to pull himself to the highest point of the fencing and turned around to stare at the sea. "I can make it" he said unconvincingly. "I survived Zaude" he remarked, knowing full well that it was Duke who'd saved him, but he didn't care, he was not going to die by the hands of some nameless mercenary.

"Fuck you!" Yuri roared, lifting his legs up and kicking off the fence, backflipping as a bolt soared past him, as he dropped down towards the ocean. _"Hit the sea and I might survive, hit it, hit it!" _Yuri willed himself, his one eye open just long enough to see himself crash head on into the waves.

"Made... it" he muttered as his vision went black and his body was swept out.

-A few minutes later-

As the nobles returned to their dancing the two mercenaries burst into the hall. "Call this party short!" one of them shouted, blood dripping from his arm, causing one woman to shriek and back away in pure fright. "There's been an intruder!" he continued, making some of the more cowardly nobles already head towards the exit, Flynn and the others in the meanwhile headed towards the mercenaries.

"What do you mean, what happened?" Flynn shouted at the man and he gave him a stoic response. "Tell me, I'm the Commandant!" Flynn decided to use his rank as a weapon but it didn't work, that is until the Magistrate walked up to them.

"Commandant, go and inspect the scene, you two go with him!" the elderly man ordered, much unlike his normally frail demeanour.

"S-Sir?"

"Do it" the Magistrate ordered and with a reluctant nod they started to walk away with Flynn in hot pursuit.

"W-Wait, I'm coming too" a concerned Estelle said but this was quickly shot down by the blonde haired commandant.

"Sodia, please stay here with the Princess" Flynn asked the woman who nodded her understanding and grabbed Estelle from behind.

"Sodia let go-"

"No... If it really was Lowell then it may not be something you want to see" Sodia informed her morbidly, making Estelle's green eyes grow wider than ever, tears forming at the edges at the possibility.

"...Yuri"

* * *

><p>(End Chapter)<p>

That was one hell of a long chapter, I think this is an ample Christmas present for my readers, that is if you like the fact that Yuri may actually be dead. So yeah I did say stuff was about to go down and here it is, the 'counter-attack' will soon begin, it'll soon be the whole tracking these bastards down and all.

I took a lot of time and effort to write this so I hope you enjoyed it and I hope that you can give me some reviews as a Christmas Present, seeing as I wrote this on Christmas Eve, just before the party I'm about to go too.

Anyway have a merry Christmas everyone and please Leave me a Review

P.S. I probably won't start writing the next chapter until I hit 50 reviews.

-Aquilon


	14. The Second Strike

Changing the World Isn't Easy Chapter Fourteen

Wow I'm glad I got last chapter out of the way, it was a nightmare because it was the final hurdle before I start writing the super serious stuff, or more so the hero's actions towards solving this mystery.

The Second Strike

If Flynn had to sum up the vision in front of him into one word it would be 'disarray.' Shattered glass littered the blue carpet, stained red by thick droplets of blood. To the side was a broken down desk, once majestic in appearance, now nothing more than scrap that you'd find floating downstream in the Lower Quarter.

It didn't take long for Flynn to understand that Yuri had found something that _somebody _didn't want him to see. All that was clear was Yuri was gone, there was no body so at least he wouldn't have to break any certain news to Estelle.

"What happened here?" Flynn asked as the two mercenaries entered behind him, accompanied by none other than Captain Michael and the Magistrate.

"The _thief _was looting the room so we attacked him" one of the mercenaries lied as he kicked a stray piece of wood, uncaring whether it damaged the room even further. "The sneaky bastard smashed the window and jumped, aint no way he's living" the man continued, sniggering as he noticed Flynn's body visibly tighten.

"We can't say that for sure" was the reply, but it wasn't Flynn's.

"Captain Michael?" Flynn practically gasped, turning around to the highborn knight with an expression of hope on his face. To him Michael Lexar was a good man who had selflessly dealt with the Cumore Brigade's fallout upon the death of their Captain. It was his actions at that time that promoted him from Lieutenant to Captain and subsequently renaming the Cumore Brigade to the Michael Brigade.

"That man... Yuri I assume, hasn't given up on his criminal ways and he's always had a knack for escaping" the man growled, his disdain for the black-haired man evident in each of his 'poisonous' words.

"Captain I'd appreciate it if you'd refrain from jumping to conclusions!" Flynn practically shouted in denial, understanding why Michael would suspect Yuri, after all he did remember Sodia telling him about their fight.

"I apologise Commandant, though that man is trouble, I will admit he can fight though, _sort of_" he continued, hushing the final part as if he was ashamed to be complimenting someone who was socially below him in _every _way.

"Look I know of Yuri's past, he wouldn't do this" Flynn lied, stepping forward just far enough to kick something that felt like another plank of wood. "Hm?" Flynn hummed, looking down to reveal a thick binder coated in a thin layer of black coloured blood, akin to that of a diary.

"_Was Yuri?" _Flynn's mind questioned instantly, bending over quickly to scoop the article in to his hand, unaware that the accompanying four members of the room were all wide eyed at his actions. _"Is this what the magistrate wanted me to find?"_ Flynn wondered as he flipped open the first page, only for a hand to reach his shoulder.

"It's not nice to peak at other people's diaries" the elderly man remarked, quickly snatching it but not before giving him a sympathetic expression that left Flynn wondering how the old man was really connected to the disappearances.

"Phew" one of the mercenaries sighed, only to be kicked in the shins by Michael, something that didn't go unmissed by the Commandant.

"Captain?"

"Sorry, I just... really don't like those who attack without trying to negotiate first" Michael explained and Flynn being the trusting man he was accepted it, personally he didn't like the thought of trigger happy mercenaries either, especially when they involved his friends.

"Well said" Flynn voiced his approval as he resumed his search, walking to the balcony as a snake like smile slithered its way onto Michael's face, eliciting a disguised glare from the elderly Magistrate who walked out of the room, heart and mind disgusted.

"I hope you uncover the truth Flynn, because you're the only man in the Empire with the resources, power and wit to do so" the man croaked quietly as he hobbled his way to his quarters.

-Hallway-

There were many things that Sodia was accustomed to, she could fight, she was relatively understanding in regards to politics and she knew the ins and outs of the social system that plagued the Empire, but one crying woman, nope nothing.

In front of her sat the despondent fourth Princess of the Zaphian Empire, head in her hands, openly sobbing about an incident that very well may not have happened. It baffled the young knight; most royalty cared little for others or so that's what she'd heard from her mother, so why would such a person cry for somebody like Yuri, the worst kind of person.

"_Emotions are... not my speciality" _the knight inwardly sighed as she wrapped her arms around herself, apparently standing around for too long in her dress left her feeling chilly, or perhaps it was just Estelle's feelings getting to her.

"When is Flynn going to get back... oh no did they find his b-b-body?" Estelle 'whispered' her morbid assumptions, hiccupping occasionally as tears stained her face, making her light make-up run, she was a state and Sodia wished she could do something, but she wasn't sure how.

"_Do I like... hug her or something?" _Sodia wondered, shaking her head at the absurdity seconds later. Instigating physical contact with royalty, bar shielding them with her body, was something she wasn't going to do. It was disrespectful, rude and unfitting of a knight.

"I-If only we hadn't gone... Yuri..."

"_Oh great this is our fault" _Sodia thought in a panic, ignoring the fact that she mentioned herself and Flynn as being equals in the decision. "H-He's... fine" Sodia stuttered awkwardly, it was embarrassing to say such things especially when she had zero proof.

"Huh?" Estelle gasped, head rising from her heads to reveal thin lines of mascara which were running down her face, it only made Sodia feel worse. "S-Sodia?"

"Look... Yur- I mean _Lowell_ is not the man to die to some thuggish ruffians" Sodia stated, unsure if she hated the mercenaries that treated her like a fool a week ago or the man who drove her insane whenever they were in close proximity of each other.

"Y-you think so?"

"...Didn't you... travel around the world with him - you should know him better than me" Sodia tried to steer clear of making full blown statements, not wanting to get her hopes up completely only for them to be potentially crushed.

"Y-yeah but he-"the princess started, sniffing distinctly as the tears seemed to dry up, either she'd run out of tears or Sodia was having an effect on her. "-Always does stupid things... he worries me, he gets into fights, he never tells me the whole story and then he'll just wander through my door and sit down, a smile on his face even while littered with wounds, do you know how scary that is?" Estelle queried the young knight emotionally as she wiped away the stagnant tears, hands and voice trembling as she did so.

"_She's really in love with Lowell isn't she?" _Sodia mentally stated, almost sounding sympathetic. Emotions let alone love, was a tricky subject for the woman, but even she could understand the princess' affections.

"E-Excuse me?" Sodia stuttered, unsure of how to reply.

"When someone you care for does something stupid... do you understand?" Estelle asked, this time with much more confidence.

"..." Images of Yuri and Flynn interacting flew through her mind. Every little meeting between the two seized her consciousness; she was witness to each one. The time Yuri and Flynn conversed after his promotion, the way Yuri spoke... she knew he was going to do something and it worried her.

Flynn's meeting with him in Mantaic stuck out vividly, she could remember herself hiding behind a palm tree, slapping Witcher on the head when he accused her of spying on the man but she couldn't help herself. She knew each time Flynn met Yuri that he'd be closer to being swayed, that even Flynn the pinnacle of true justice was weak to something and that was his friendship with Yuri.

So she did it, she couldn't risk Flynn becoming something he wasn't. The image of stabbing Yuri in the back atop Zaude poured in like an oppressive, unyielding wave. She could almost feel his blood on her hands once more, it frightened her then and it did now. She knew she was wrong from the moment the blade pierced his skin, but it was for Flynn... she had to protect him.

"Sodia?" Estelle asked as she watched the knight a few years her senior stare into blank space, purple eyes glazed over. "Sodia" she repeated once more, this time louder, this time much closer to her, making the woman jump.

"Eh... sorry, I-"Sodia tried to explain but stopped trying. Such information would never reach the light of day unless Yuri told someone and she strangely trusted him to keep it secret.

"Do you understand?" Estelle asked, voice curious and still sad but distinctly chirpier than before.

"...Maybe" the woman admitted, but with no real certainty, which elicited an audible giggle from the young princess.

"You're weird" Estelle stated bluntly, almost offending the knight but this was avoided the moment Estelle wrapped her hands around her. "Thank you."

"F-for what?" Sodia asked, not reciprocating the hug for many reasons.

"For trying to cheer me up" Estelle stated quickly, eyes directed to the side. "I need a friend at times like these... I'm not as brave as Rita and Yuri... or even Karol now" she admitted, body trembling slightly.

Moments later Sodia reciprocated the gesture, allowing Estelle to do what she wanted, unsure why she did so, or why she too was smiling.

"_Friend"_

-An hour later-

The sight was... strange to say the least. In front of the Commandant were his most loyal subordinate and the woman he used to protect sitting close together, communicating amiably. It was the first time he'd ever seen Sodia open with someone besides himself; even with the brigade she was distant, playing the role as second-in-command but never comrade in arms.

It warmed his heart, just seeing Sodia's smile was alleviating the accumulated stress that had built up during his investigation. In his hands was his spare sword that Yuri had opted to jettison in his flight from the scene, usually he'd feel worried at such a thing, but this was Yuri... the master of escape.

"I see you two are doing well" Flynn remarked as he walked closer, snapping both of them out of their own world and back into Terca-Lumireis.

"S-Sir" Sodia stuttered, quickly moving away from Estelle in a panic, face painted with a blush as her superior chuckled quietly at her distress.

Estelle's reaction was different, she too jolted but this one was towards Flynn, in fact she was already up in his face before he could blink. "Flynn what did you find, oh no that's the sword Yuri – No don't tell me" she started in a panic which forced a sigh to escape Flynn's mouth.

"Calm down Lad- Estelle I come with good news" Flynn informed the woman, telling her a white-lie, but not bad enough that it constituted as an offence against royalty.

"Really?" she cried in relief, eyes sparkling once more, quickly looking behind Flynn half-expecting Yuri to be hiding there for the sole reason of making her worry.

"...Yes" Flynn continued, eyes locking with Sodia as he said it, conveying all he had to tell her through such simple means. "He's not here but he got away" Flynn deduced, there was no certainty, but it was best for himself and especially Estelle that he speak positively.

"A-are you sure?" Estelle asked as she stepped back a few strides, this was met with Sodia's forward strides so they now stood practically hip to hip.

"There is not a large amount of blood on the scene, he did however from what I heard jump off the balcony" Flynn revealed, partially surprised when there was no gasp, instead there was just a nod of the head from Estelle. "Apparently there was a struggle and he well... jumped into the sea..." Flynn continued, wincing as he saw Estelle's face drop.

"Y-You mean like Zaude?"

"...Yes" Flynn revealed, grimacing in such a manner that the guilt washed over Sodia once more. "However we know Yuri... he's stubborn and just won't die no matter what you do to him. We'll send search parties out as soon as possible... don't worry I am _sure _he is alive" Flynn concluded, knowing the odds were more fifty-fifty but with Yuri's survivability it probably knocked it up to around eighty-twenty.

"...Yes he wouldn't die" Estelle stated, dropping to her knees with relief, exhaling in a manner which was very unlike royalty but from the expressions on Sodia and Flynn's faces they didn't mind nor would they tell anyone.

"That's our Yuri alright" Flynn joked.

"That's _her _Yuri" Sodia stated without even thinking, cheeks turning pink as she heard Estelle giggle girlishly at her comment.

"Excuse me Sodia?" Flynn stifled a laugh, sounding genuinely amused at her comment. It sounded almost jealous, but of what exactly he couldn't be sure, all that he knew was it seemed his beloved adjutant was starting to open up more.

"N-nothing sir" she stammered, turning her back to them, wondering why she said something so stupid.

"Okay then" Flynn conceded as he waited for Estelle to get to her feet. "Let's all head back to the inn" Flynn suggested, earning instantaneous nods from the two women. "Well let's get going."

-Inn-

Back at the Inn Estelle returned to her room instantly, she wasn't sad she just wasn't in the mood to talk, this left behind the two knights. "Are you really sure about _Lowell?_" Sodia asked once she knew Estelle was out of earshot, much like she had done with Rita Estelle managed to somehow pierce the thick hide that veiled Sodia's heart.

"No, in fact that is why we can't let her stay here with us during the investigation" Flynn revealed pessimistically as he sat himself down at table in the lobby, Sodia followed in suit, sitting directly opposite him, ignoring the fact that she had yet to get back into her knight uniform.

"You agree with me don't you Sodia" Flynn stated, he knew the woman was thinking the same thing. It would be more painful to Estelle than anybody else, even himself, if they discovered Yuri's body. It wasn't something he wanted to think about but it was a possibility, his first survival was nothing more than a miracle.

"Yes" Sodia replied solemnly. She didn't care for Yuri, no way but she did care about Estelle for some reason that went beyond knightly obligation towards royalty. She didn't want Estelle to become tainted by losing somebody she loved, she knew the feeling.

"Then you already know what my next course of action is going to be?" Flynn asked curiously, wondering how far their seemingly telepathic connection stretched,

"You'll send for an escort tonight, so you'll be leaving me with the princess to make her accept it" Sodia stated calmly, the corner of her lips turning ever so slightly as she spotted the look of astonishment on his face.

"You really do know me better than anyone else" Flynn commented softly, grinning widely as he did so, making Sodia's heart stop momentarily.

"Even more than _Lowell?_" she asked almost bashfully.

"_I'm just standing in until the right person comes along" _Yuri's words from outside the very Inn they sat resounded in her mind, would it be too far a stretch as to maybe, even_ possibly_ hope that she was who he was talking about at that time?

"Maybe" Flynn joked as he leant back and looked towards the door. "Do you think you can convince her Sodia?" Flynn asked curiously, extremely interested in how she would react because often or not her reactions were far from what she felt, even he knew that.

"M-Maybe" Sodia admitted, making the Commandant frown. "W-What?"

"I wanted to hear you say something else, it would have been amusing"

"Sir" she warned.

"I know, sorry" Flynn quickly apologised as he got to his feet. "I'll head to Capua Nor HQ, good luck" Flynn said, seriousness regained, it was funny how a mere 'sir' put him back on track. "See you later" and with that he was gone, out the door and into the rain once more.

"..."

"Why did I ask him something so stupid?"

-Headquarters-

As Flynn walked through the doors he spotted Captain Michael sitting in the corner, eyes focused on some paper, he would have called out to him but decided not to, opting to get his job out of the way instead, which didn't take long, in fact it only took a few minutes.

Flynn was the kind of person to command respect, especially amongst fellow knights. Elder, younger or the same age most of them felt some form of admiration for him. It was for this reason and the small fact that he was technically their boss that they jumped at his call, even more so when he mentioned that it was to escort the princess.

After this Flynn turned back to the corner but it was empty, somehow the Captain had managed to sneak out without him noticing, but that didn't matter too much to Flynn, after all Michael was a man that could be trusted.

...In his eyes.

-Back at the Inn-

Flynn wasn't sure how but Sodia accomplished her task... much faster than even he'd expected. In the main lobby set Estelle, now clean from the make-up runs which he had been kind enough to not mention when he had seen her in the hallway and dressed in much more ordinary clothes.

Unfortunately that meant Sodia was also back into her normal wear, something that disappointed him, having grown very fond of her look for the short time she'd sported it. "I'm ready to go Flynn" Estelle said almost instantly, almost anxiously, this made Flynn turn to Sodia with an expression on his face asking 'what did you do?'

"Uhh..."

"Don't worry Sodia told me the sooner I go the sooner they'll allow you to send out search parties... I don't really get it but I don't really have to" Estelle stated naively in a manner which only she could.

"Ah yes... that" Flynn replied slowly. _"Clever thinking Sodia" _Flynn mentally complimented her, seconds later she smiled ever so slightly yet still clearly noticeable to him._"She can't really read my mind can she?" _

"Don't worry sir it's all in your head"

"..." Flynn was lost for words, truthfully the reason she smiled was because she found Flynn's hesitance amusing. The latter part was because she was able to predict what he was thinking based off his personality.

"S-So are you ready to go Estelle?" Flynn asked as Estelle lifted her case, nodding quickly. "Ok then, the carriage is outside, would you like me to carry it?" he asked, surprisingly getting a shake of the head.

"That's alright, just stay in the inn, you've done so much today already" Estelle informed her friend, showing how she appreciated all the effort he went through.

"Have a safe trip then your highness"

"Flynn-"

"I mean Estelle"

"That's better" Estelle giggled before walking over to Sodia and hugging her, this time not receiving any reciprocation but she didn't take it to heart. "Make sure he does his job" Estelle joked earning a dutiful nod from the Lieutenant who always took her job seriously.

"Well... bye" Estelle finished, waving to them before walking out the door leaving behind two off-put knights.

"Didn't she seem... too cheerful to you?" Flynn asked his Lieutenant who nodded her head in agreement.

"She's putting on a brave face" Sodia stated bluntly, there was an aspect of harshness to the tone which left Flynn wondering why she was so certain of that, yet he didn't ask for he knew it would encroach on her privacy, if she wanted to tell she would.

"I see, well... I'm hungry, care to join me to eat?"

"Sir, would you stop with that joke please?" Sodia asked with newly reddened cheeks.

"It's not a joke Sodia... I'm really that hungry"

"..."

"I-I guess I can join you... its just food" Sodia replied, half trying to convince him, half trying to convince herself.

-Estelle's Escort-

Now all alone Estelle was able to show the face she hated to reveal to anyone, the one which bore no smile, just a blank, almost trapped expression. She wasn't depressed anymore, but she couldn't really feel joyful either, it was an odd mixture of feelings.

The carriage had been moving for around an hour or so when it came to a complete halt. "That's strange, I could swear we already passed through Ehmead Hill's checkpoint" Estelle mumbled as she got to her feet and approached the window, stopping when the sound of blood curdling screams reached her ears, promptly making her eyes go wide.

"You guys... you're the red-eyes!" one of the escorts shouted indignantly, drawing his sword swiftly before pouncing, only to be stopped in his tracks instantly by a well timed crossbow to the heart. "Ugh... you won't get pr-princess" the man stuttered his last words as the light faded from his eyes.

Estelle stood still, an expression of melancholy claiming homage on her face one again, but this time she wasn't powerless.

In the past Estelle had the knack for getting kidnapped, or at least the role of damsel in distress, and whilst the appeal of Yuri swooping to her aid was appealing she _knew _he couldn't do that now. So she decided there was only one thing she could do, fight.

Estelle wasn't a slacker so her skills had not yet waned. She also had the benefit of receiving hands on training in self-defence by the best mage and arguably the best swordsman in the entire world. _"I can do this" _Estelle thought confidently as she slowed her breathing and took a peak out the window.

The sight was gruesome, five knights led face first on the ground, blood marring the floor below, creating a pool of the foul dark red, almost black liquid. Each one had clearly been taken down by one attack, she knew the knights weren't all trained to the same standard as those in Zaphias, but it was still quite the accomplishment to achieve such swift kills, Estelle knew she had to be careful.

"Six of them" Estelle commented in regards to the six 'red-eyes' that surrounded her carriage like a pack of lions and they were closing in.

Luckily for the woman she had two things on her side, first there was only one entrance and second, she was perhaps the most well matched person on Terca-Lumireis for such situations, or so Rita had once told her.

"_Your magic is special, you also possess defensive skills and some rather powerful spells. Set out your defences and go nuts" _was Rita's advice and she planned to stick with it. "Well here goes nothing" Estelle said in a slightly shaky manner as a red-eye got even closer to the entrance.

"..."

A knock appeared at the door, but Estelle didn't lose her concentration, she had a plan.

"We've come to 'collect' a certain Princess, is she here?" the voice of the red-eyes asked in a taunting manner.

"Oh yes, come in" Estelle said in such a cheerful manner that it took the man by surprise, and that's all it took, for the moment the door opened.

"Heh-Huh?"

"PHOTON!" Estelle cried, having delayed her spell just like Rita had taught her in an attempt to trap the first one and do something else.

"Oh shit!" the man screamed causing those outside to scatter as a sphere of light enveloped his body, rooting him to the spot. As this occurred Estelle grabbed the sides of the carriage just in time because seconds later the photonic sphere exploded, flipping the carriage, sending it hurtling into one of the red-eye's outside, crushing him under the weight of its frame.

"T-Two down" Estelle stammered, shaken by the flip, she didn't know her spells were so potent.

"BITCH"

"We'll kill you!"

Voices of rage filled the plains but Estelle ignored them, instead focusing all her concentration on her spell. As the bodies closed in to the carriage they found the getting in was nigh on impossible, the carriage had landed with the door facing the earth, she had sealed herself in.

"Force field!" Estelle called out, coating the inner walls of the carriage in an impenetrable dome. _"Go nuts hmm?" _Estelle thought almost sarcastically, realizing that her spells really were suited for such battles.

"Oi what is this?!"

"She's trapped she can't do anything from in there!"

"Quick! Turn it around"

Meanwhile as the red-eyes pre-occupied themselves with trying to get in she started to go on the offensive. She may have not had the guile of Yuri, or Rita's pure destructive power but her defensive skill set was indeed handy.

"O holy water, rain down your power on us!" Estelle began to chant, ready to turn the plain into a wasteland. "HOLY RAIN!" Estelle shouted, smiling knowing she had just done something she never could in the past, she'd saved herself.

Outside the carriage the red-eyes were pounding away at the walls, ignorant of the threat of the princess until the sky turned yellow momentarily, seizing all of their attentions as they looked up to the sky, looks of fear hiding behind their special masks.

"Is that magic but how?" one commented as spectral comets of light burst out of the golden sky, raining down upon them, forging large craters, four light blasts collided with the outer wall of the carriage disintegrating it leaving behind just the force field which Estelle hid within. The spell paled in comparison to Rita's Meteor Storm but it derived from that, even Estelle was kind of... astounded by its sheer destructive force.

"There's nothing left" Estelle remarked, even the bodies had been turned to dust, the only thing that had survived the onslaught was a single knight's sword, that was the true power of magic, something which people tended to underestimate since they only ever met low-class spell casters. "Rest in peace" Estelle said respectfully, even if they did just try to kidnap her. Everyone of their party, including her had killed in the past; her experience was a group of desert bandits whom attacked the party.

"Well at least it's over" Estelle said, turning away, having no clue of where to go next. "Maybe... that way!" Estelle stated, pointing in a random direction, but this 'enthusiasm' was cut short by a cold, monotonous voice.

"Impressive"

Estelle's blood ran cold as she looked over her shoulder to spot not a red-eye but a man wearing what seemed to be a Lieutenant's uniform in the colours of Captain Michael, his eyes were soulless and his voice lacked distinction. "W-Why are you here?" Estelle stuttered, she didn't know why, she just felt something from this man.

"I see no reason to tell" he said as he drew his sword, forcing Estelle's eyes to go wide. "Don't worry, I won't kill you" he followed up, but his voice didn't really inspire confidence.

"..." Estelle couldn't speak, but she could move and with that energy she dived to the ground and picked up the fallen knight's sword which had somehow withstood the carnage.

"..." the Lieutenant mimicked her and stepped closer as Estelle got to her feet and held the sword out in front of her, already in a stance, green eyes fixed on the lieutenant's black, a will ready to fight. "I'm not allowed to kill you so don't fi-"the man started only for Estelle to dart forward quickly, thrusting the sword directly through his shoulder, surfacing on the other side covered in dark blood.

"Ugh" he grunted in agony as Estelle pulled the sword back out, making blood spurt out everywhere.

"I know how to use a sword" Estelle claimed, voice full of vigour, spirit and fight, she was no longer a weak little girl.

"Ugh... evidently."

-Next Morning, At the Inn-

"Can things get any worse?" Flynn growled with pure unbridled fury, eyes sharp like a sword, Sodia had never seen her object of affection so mad, but she knew he had every reason to be, heck even she felt like killing whoever had done this.

Before them was a letter, its contents were this:-

_Dear Mr. Scifo_

_Any minute now you'll be hearing word of an attack on a carriage which was heading from Capua Nor to Halure. I heard it was transporting a very important person, but don't worry, she's safe._

_She's in my hands now._

_I collected her and thus in return for keeping her safe I have one request of you._

_Stop your investigation of the Lower Quarter Incident, if not the pretty little princess may end up meeting an unfortunate accident I'm sure you understand what I mean._

_I'll be monitoring you._

_Good Luck._

"This... This!" Flynn roared, stamping down on the table which the letter sat upon, snapping it in two. "This bastard has made the worst mistake he could ever make" Flynn declared as he turned to Sodia. "We're going to have to find this guy before Yuri ends up killing him" Flynn said with the upmost confidence, there was no heaven or hell that would stop Yuri from coming for Estelle.

"We're solving this, mark my words" Flynn declared with an enthusiasm and passion so strong that it completely seized Sodia's senses.

"_He's finally back to the way he was when he was a Lieutenant" _she thought with an almost cruel joy as she inwardly smiled, she knew it was bad that she was enjoying it but she couldn't help herself.

"Yes sir!"

* * *

><p>(End Chapter)<p>

Bitch! That is the second strike! Honestly though I always wanted to use "I know how to use a sword" in a fight for Estelle, you know what she said to the knight's back in the castle at the start of the game but it wasn't very confident, she's a strong girl now, wounded a 'monster' of a character as well.

Oh and just to note yes I made her kind of badass when she has to be. I wanted to give her Judgement... Kratos' English Incantation "Sacred powers, cast your purifying light upon these corrupt souls. Rest in peace sinners! Judgement. (That would have been cool... but she has an AoE so I went with that instead... Damn you Holy Rain xD)

Be grateful that I wrote this during my study period. I am very happy today for two reasons, I had some brilliant reviews and I think I got 1:1 grades in my exams, at University that is the top grade you can get.

Anyway I hope you enjoyed and please **leave a review **because I won't be updating until I get a certain amount of reviews, the amount, I'm not telling :)

Have a nice day.

-Aquilon.


	15. Return

Changing the World isn't Easy Chapter Fifteen

Wow first of all I must thank all of my reviewers and perhaps apologise slightly for not updating as frequently as I should, it's just hard to update when you have so much going on in your life. Regardless your reviews are an inspiration and I hope you can continue to supply them.

Return

After the calamitous performance of his allies the previous night Flynn was in a bind. His best friend's fate was currently speculative, for all he knew the man could be dead, but at the same time it really didn't seem like an option, especially after the sour awakening he'd received only hours before.

To add insult to injury his former 'mistress,' she who he had protected and befriended was in the clutches of the enemy, a malevolent letter bearing insidious news having arrived in his hands barely passed daybreak. Most people would crumble under such knowledge, feeling trapped under the weight of the consequences of their future actions, effectively paralyzing them.

Not Flynn however, he was strong, determined and even more driven to solve the problems which he'd been encountering as of late. "Sodia, are you sure you know what you're doing?" the Commandant asked, eyes directed upwards at his Lieutenant who was scaling the metal fencing at the back of the Magistrate's estate, eyes respectfully avoiding looking up the skirt of her uniform, something that was standard for female knights.

His response was a grunt. She had practically demanded that Flynn needn't bother himself with such trivial tasks, that he should allow her to do it. So he remained on the ground, occasionally moving uncomfortably on the waterlogged grass to readjust his footing. The night's downpour had effectively washed away any evidence of Yuri's descent but Sodia was adamant that if there was any it'd be at the very top of the fence.

He wasn't sure why evidence was a necessity, but apparently it'd help the search parties, he didn't understand how but decided if it was beneficial that they'd find some. "Found anything yet?" Flynn asked impatiently, looking up once more only to get a slight peek up her skirt, luckily she wore skin tight shorts underneath which prevented any embarrassing incidents.

"Sorry sir. I'll be as fast as I can," the woman apologised, looping up onto the top of the fencing, inwardly sighing with relief. As expected her feet were just small enough to fit between the gaps of ornamental spikes which adorned the top of the railings, this enabled her to easily scale the summit, something which would have been impossible for the Commandant.

"Just... be careful."

"No need to tell me that sir," Sodia quipped, concentrating on her movement, each step was slow and calculated to avoid slipping on the damp metal, she wasn't particularly sure that she possessed Yuri's durability.

As the minutes slowly clocked on Flynn thought of how to proceed, taking into consideration how careful he'd have to be. _"I have no doubts that this person is serious," _Flynn inwardly declared, after all nobody could half-heartedly kidnap a princess, simply because the problem could not be rectified through apology. Kidnapping royalty could at worst result in execution.

This meant treading cautiously and remaining relatively secretive was a necessity, any leaks of information could make its way back to Estelle's kidnapper and then it would be too late, potential death awaited her. As morbid thoughts crawled through his mind a cry of pride met his ears.

"Sir, I found something," his adjutant piped up, snapping him out of his musings and back to her.

"What did you find Sodia?" Flynn's relief was almost palpable as he made his way to her position, eyes watching her carefully as she scooted down off the fence and back onto the soggy grass, splattering some mud onto his uniform in the process.

"Blood and..." Sodia revealed as she opened her palm.

"Is that?"

"It's skin sir, it was impaled on one of the spikes. I'm unsure how it survived the torrential rainfall but I guess this is where Lowell took his desperate leap." Sodia concluded as she flicked it to the side, feeling almost disgusted just by being in contact with something that was once part of Yuri.

"I see. This will surely help the rescue teams, thank you Sodia" Flynn smiled at the woman earning an expression of pride from her as she looked away and down on the sea, thoughts questioning how Yuri could survive such a drop.

"Sodia... I won't be going back to Zaphias until we've solved everything," the man said with confidently, one hand curling into a fist. His expression was one that inspired awe, especially from Sodia who felt glad to merely be in his presence, there was no one quite like Flynn in the entire empire.

"Sir... I thought not returning was obvious."

"Yeah that's true... but my subordinates, nor his highness knows this yet." Flynn told the woman as he squinted to watch a few assembled knights moving around the port, reaching into the pocket of his tunic as he did so.

"With the capture of Lady Estellise last night I'm unsure of who I can trust to complete tasks effectively." Flynn sighed, unveiling a thin brown envelope containing a letter he had written before leaving the inn.

"Sodia I need you to deliver this letter to his highness Ioder for me," Flynn told his most loyal and trusted subordinate much to her own dismay.

"B-But, sir!"

"No buts Sodia. You'll hand this letter to Ioder and then inform knight headquarters of my decision," Flynn continued, her head lowering as a result of his words, clearly she was dejected at his choice. "Sodia..." his voice was unusually soft "you're the only person I can trust to do this," he finished, lips brandishing a caring smile as she looked to him, a faint, almost invisible blush present on her face.

For Sodia there was no greater praise than Flynn's trust. "U-Understood sir," she replied with a spirited vigour, her newfound pride overwhelming the feelings of 'sadness' she was experiencing.

"Tell nobody about Princess Estellise, this is a secret between you and me," Flynn continued, stressing the importance of her disappearance being swept under the rug. They couldn't take any risks.

"I understand. If word got out and her kidnapper became aware..."

"She could die." Flynn finished Sodia's sentence, not because he beat her to the punch but because she'd hesitated in stating the fact. It seemed to Flynn that Sodia had taken a strange liking to the princess in recent times.

"I swear I'll keep to secrecy," the lieutenant replied confidently, her new friend's life could depend on it.

"Good, now I may not be here when you're done in Zaphias so use your own discretion and come back to me as soon as you can okay?" Flynn informed the woman, taking extra care to let her know that he wanted her to return to him as fast as the task allowed her to.

"I-I will do sir." Sodia stated, feeling almost bashful at her leader's choice of words, almost imagining that it wasn't her input but her presence as a person that made him want her back as quickly as possible, and truthfully that made her very happy.

"You are dismissed Lieutenant." Flynn finished the briefing, turning away with a grin on his face which he didn't want her to see. "Oh and make sure to see your father, I'm sure he's feeling lonely without you around."

A long silence followed.

"Understood sir," was the reply once more, but this time it wasn't as enthusiastic, and with that the two parted company for a mission, for the first time in two to three years.

-Zaphias, the Imperial Capital. Four days later-

After a long trip the female knight finally reached her destination. Unlike before where she and Flynn had taken a shortcut through the Quoi Woods, she took the longer, much safer route. However due to her choice of skipping a rest point in Halure to avoid any probing questions if she ran into the genius mage she had to take an extended break at Deidon Hold for supplies, effectively increasing her travel time.

The capital was just as she'd left it, completely detached from the outside world. People lived in blissful ignorance of the dangers outside their walls, the knights having done an excellent job over the last three years in preventing any monsters from getting into the city. It surprised her but she wasn't exactly fond of the city, or more so the Royal Quarter.

The Citizen's Quarter however was another story. Sodia had always felt more connected to those of lower birth, perhaps because she didn't carry herself like a noble, instead preferring to see herself as a servant of protection, a knight to the people.

As the Commandant's trusted adjutant weaved her way through the crowds of the marketplace she noticed that her favourite stall was closed. The stall itself sold various specially tailored goods, which was perfect for her since most armour was made in the male variety. It was sad but anything of high quality was difficult to find, so the woman's tailoring services was perfect for her. All Sodia had to do was give her supplies and specifics and of course Gald and she'd get a high quality piece of armour, it was almost an art.

"_That's a disappointment," _the woman inwardly sighed, having collected some Rhinossus hides during her passing through the hold.

Other than that stall there was nothing of interest to the knight so she quickly got herself out of the marketplace and into the plaza. The Royal Quarter was a mere 422 steps away, yes she had counted how many steps the large 'staircase' possessed on many occasions, however before she took to the task of a climb she couldn't help but notice a small congregation of three women staring at her.

She wanted to say something, finding their attitudes rude but she didn't, there was no need to get involved, so she walked away, stopping quickly however when she caught ear to what one of them had said.

"Why does Commandant Flynn always seem so interested in that boyish woman anyway?" one of them asked, taking a peek at the back of her head, not understanding why Sodia was motionless.

"Well may that's his taste, he is interested in that Yuri Lowell criminal as well," another woman quipped, making all of them laugh with delight, embarrassing the female knight who didn't understand why they'd speak like that.

"_He's not interested in me and he's definitely not like 'that' with Lowell," _she thought as she walked away, caring not for their words. She understood her own self-worth and she cared not for suggestions that she was boyish.

Suggestions that Flynn could be anything more than her boss however was something that she couldn't stomach, it would leave her outside her comfort zone and that wasn't something she was willing to do. So that left her with only one option, forget and ignore and continue with her mission and she took it, instantly heading for the first of the 422 steps.

-Imperial Castle-

Sodia was in front of the castle gates fairly quickly, the 422 steps which often plagued typical nobles having no effect on her due to her prime conditioning.

The castle itself was a majestic structure, fitting for that of an Emperor. Its outer perimeter was guarded by large obsidian coloured fencing which put the Magistrate's Estate's in Capua Nor to shame. The security was further backed up by knights stationed throughout the castle grounds making it nigh on impenetrable, even more so since Ioder's ascension to the throne.

In front of the main gate stood two knights both donning colours of the Flynn brigade, which she noted was a stroke of luck. "I'm here to see his Highness Ioder on orders from the Commandant." Sodia explained to the two behind the gate, not that she particularly had to, she could have given any half-baked excuse but her professionalism forbade such a course of action.

"Of course Lieutenant Sodia, please come in," they responded in a tone of respect, forcing her to inwardly smile. Women weren't often acknowledged in the knights, their inclusion often seen as a form of tokenism. Sodia however had passed training at a standard that put her on par with male knights which in conjunction with her leadership position made her a role model for up and coming female knights.

Taking their advice she walked straight passed them, giving them a small nod of appreciation before entering the castle. From there Sodia quickly made her way to the entrance of the throne room where once again she encountered some knights, after quickly explaining the situation they entered the room to get confirmation from Ioder, moments later they allowed her to enter.

The throne room was much like the rest of the castle. The colour scheme was predominately white and black, possessing the same expensive marble floor which shone so bright that she could see her reflection. The centre of the room however possessed a long red carpet which led to the throne upon which Ioder sat, looking almost bored.

"Welcome Sodia how have you been?" the young Emperor smiled brightly, speaking with a sense of familiarity to the female knight who was part of his entourage during his bid for the throne.

"I've been... busy Master Ioder," the knight who wasn't talkative by nature answered elusively as one of Ioder's brows curled upwards in interest. He knew that she wasn't talkative, but her hesitant demeanour was very uncommon.

"So I hear you were sent here by Flynn?" the Emperor took initiative, knowing that the woman in front of him was too respectful for her own good, smiling as her eyes lit up with energy.

"Yes I was asked to deliver a letter to you on the Commandant's behalf," she answered with spirited vigour, stepping forward, pulling the brown envelope out of her breast pocket and placing it into his hand, the letter was a little crumpled but it was still in one piece much to her relief.

"Commandant?" the Emperor asked with a wry smile. "Don't you mean Flynn's behalf?" he asked almost teasingly, restraining a chuckle as she flinched.

"S-Sorry to have offended you..." Sodia apologised, looking away with shame, sure that she had somehow insulted royalty.

Her vision remained constant, focused on a vertical stone pillar in the corner of the room in an attempt to hide her shame. This action remained for a few minutes until the sound of a swift ripping of paper met her ears, forcing her to turn to the Emperor who donned a dark expression in his emerald green orbs.

"I see... so Estellise..." he grunted, he wasn't directing any anger towards Sodia, but he certainly seemed infuriated.

"So he told you?" Sodia asked hesitantly once more earning a nod from the man. She was unused to anything other than a bright smile on the Emperor's face, even when he was saved from Ragou he smiled positively, so this was quite an eye-opening event for her. She assumed that his willingness to show his infuriation was due to him being alone in her company, but she wasn't going to dwell upon it.

"It was wise that he sent you personally. This is... quite a dangerous situation, I assume he told you to keep absolute secrecy?" the Emperor asked the young lieutenant.

"He did indeed Master Ioder. My lips are completely sealed," Sodia responded respectfully much like she'd been taught as a child by her father.

"Flynn mentioned in the letter that the Magistrate was being suspicious, do you agree with his evaluation Sodia?" Ioder asked the woman, watching with intrigue as Sodia's purple eyes sharpened. It was true the Magistrate was suspicious but Sodia had other doubts plaguing her, even before they originally set off for Capua Nor which had only been reinforced since.

"The Comm... Flynn is most certainly correct about the Magistrate." Sodia answered flatly, it was clear that she wanted to say something else, but she refrained herself out of her loyalty to Flynn.

"There's something else you'd like to add though, correct?" Ioder asked inquisitively, earning a nod from the female lieutenant. "Then go ahead, I won't inform Flynn." Ioder told her kindly, giving her the confidence to speak her own conclusions.

"...This is just a hunch, there's not much evidence to support it but." Sodia started, eyes meeting the Emperor's, her confidence in her opinion evident to the man who ruled the Zaphian Empire. "Captain Michael Lexar... he is not a trustworthy person," Sodia answered.

"Has he done anything suspicious that might have caused this opinion?"

"Yes... well... originally no, but in retrospect yes. His lieutenant originally told us the news about the Capua Nor murders, furthermore contrary to information we were told, Capua Nor has been peaceful since Ragou's demise." Sodia deduced, but before the Emperor could speak she continued.

"To add to matters, the information we had received from Lieutenant Felix was suspicious. According to his information the knight who was killed was pursuing a suspect towards the port, however his body was found facing towards town. This wasn't a simple mistake, it was omitted information," Sodia claimed, her eyes sharpening. "They know something more than they're letting on." Sodia finished, her voice sounding almost paranoid but Ioder still took her words to heart.

"So if I were to believe this... what would you propose Lieutenant Sodia?" Ioder asked seriously, gone was the familiarity, now replaced with a professionalism which pleased Sodia, it meant she was actually being listen to.

Sodia went quiet for a moment, her mind mulling over all the information she knew. Unlike Flynn she was more impartial, less trusting and much more suspicious of people's motives which made her more suited for this aspect of the job.

"Don't be lured in by anything said by the council," Sodia answered after a solid minute of thinking.

"The council?" Ioder practically gasped, earning a nod from the female knight.

"Grand-Duke Solomon Lexar is its head," she answered with a confident smile, eyes burning with a determination that rivalled Flynn's eliciting a mild chuckle from the young Emperor.

"You really are Flynn's opposite... he's a very trusting man." Ioder started, almost forcing Sodia to worry. "However... you can see things that he can't because of that character trait of his," Ioder continued, smiling at the female knight.

"Then you-"

"I'll be on guard, thank you Sodia." Ioder answered.

"...Thank you... that's all I have to report sir" Sodia bowed, looking towards the exit, wanting nothing more than to leave, earning a firm nod from the Emperor.

"Farewell then Sodia," the Emperor bid her goodbye, knowing that she wasn't one to stick around and chat after her mission was complete, but he was fine with this, taking her words and advice to heart as she walked out the door.

-Valeria Manor-

"Why must you bring up marriage every single time I return home?" an irate Sodia growled at the man sitting opposite her, he sported sharp brown eyes, a powerful jaw line and a scalp full of luscious brown hair that swept to the left. His name was Cain Valeria, Sodia's father.

"Darling, please won't you just consider it, I went through a lot of effort," the man asked softly, reaching over in an attempt to seize her hands with his one good arm, his other limp and paralyzed, only for the woman to pull away viciously.

"No! I know you care for me but I don't want to marry just for the sake of marrying!" Sodia scolded the man in his early fifties.

"But honey."

"No means no, I will not sit through any more dinners with somebody as obnoxious and arrogant as Cumore, do you know how disgusting that was?" Sodia snarled, arms crossing her lower stomach as he stared off to the side dismissively.

"You look just like your mother when you act like this," Cain sighed wistfully, eyes shining with a mixture of pride and longing. He so dearly missed his wife who died in active service during the Great War.

"Thanks," Sodia whispered a grateful reply as she got to her feet and walked passed her father. "I don't think I can compare, being so boyish and all." Sodia practically breathed that last part as she stared at the oil painting of her mother, below it hung the Rose of Valeria, a hybrid Spada de Lato sword which possessed a unique pink rose shaped hand-guard and a royal blue scabbard accentuated by gold streaks.

"Nonsense," Cain dismissed her comments, shakily placing one hand on her shoulder.

"Father, please don't walk unless it's necessary," Sodia panicked, quickly propping his hand around her neck. "Your sickness, you know it makes it hard for you to move." Sodia scolded the man, guiding him back to the seats.

"Ah right, I'm sorry." Cain sounded genuinely apologetic as he shuffled onto the seat. "Don't look at me like that, I'm not dying." Cain assured his daughter whose eyes seemingly shed melancholy when looking at him.

"Okay..." Sodia replied flatly, she knew it was a lie and she guessed it was for that very reason that he was searching for a husband for her.

"So dear, how has your mission been?" Cain asked with keen interest, he too was once a knight alongside his late wife.

"Good," Sodia lied, not wanting to make him worry. "I'll have to return to Flynn as soon as possible, but otherwise things are going well."

"Ah Flynn, such a lovely young man," Cain praised openly. "Under his leadership the knights seem more approachable and more importantly, he's a very positive image for my daughter." Cain said without any reservation, eyes poised carefully on his daughter's reaction, smiling gently when her expression turned softer.

"I'm sure he'd be proud to hear you say that," Sodia responded calmly. To the untrained eye Sodia's reactions would go unnoticed, but to Cain who knew his daughter more than anyone else, he knew she was subconsciously happy to hear his acceptance of Flynn.

"Hmm," the man murmured, smiling wryly as he gave his daughter a once over. "Perhaps I should send a letter to the Commandant to see if he'd be interested in courting my lovely daughter," Cain mused.

"You'll do no such thing!" Sodia's eyes panicked, her face turning a scorching beet red at her father's suggestion only to be met with the man's hearty laughter.

"Calm down dear it was only a suggestion," Cain continued to chuckle, watching as his daughter huffed in embarrassment as if she was a little girl all over again, bringing back fond memories of happier times.

"Yes, a suggestion." Sodia mumbled in an attempt to regain calm, seeing this Cain decided to help his daughter out a little.

"So dear, what is it that you'd like for dinner?" Cain asked, quickly changing the subject.

Sodia pondered her choice for only a short moment before the perfect dish came to mind. "Would it be possible to have steak?" Sodia asked, earning a raised eyebrow from her father.

"Why yes, of course it is." Cain replied, seizing the bell on the table at his side hesitantly, ringing it once and in doing so, summoning a young woman with short ginger hair, blue vacant eyes and a rounded face.

"We had a maid?" Sodia asked curiously at the sight of the modestly dressed pale woman who seemed almost familiar to her.

"Yes, to help me get around whilst you're away," Cain replied almost guiltily. "Clarice," he addressed the maid, "would you please inform the cooks that we'll be having steak for lunch?" Cain asked with an urgency that surprised Sodia.

"Yes, of course sir, right away," the woman replied in monotone, turning around almost robotically before walking to the door.

"Father what was that about?" Sodia asked her father, gaining no response from the man who merely stared into space with a pained expression. "Father?" she asked once more, snapping him out of daze.

"What is it dear?"

"I asked what that was all about," Sodia replied, sounding very concerned.

"Oh that? It was nothing that concerns you _Sodia_, nothing at all."

-Knight Headquarters-

It was an uncommon sight for Sodia but she guessed she'd have to accept it. Sitting behind the desk that belonged to her superior Flynn, was the large and boisterous Captain Julius alongside his two lieutenants, commonly known as the Aiheep twins.

"So what brings you here today Lieutenant, have you been well?" Captain Julius asked respectfully, eyes never meeting Sodia's, always directed to the side but not directly into them.

"Yes sir, I've been fine thank you, and you?" Sodia returned the question, eyes desperately trying to meet the senior Captain's, there was something about his actions that always made Sodia curious, as if he carried an aura of perpetual guilt around her.

"I've been wonderful, thank you for asking." His reaction was strained, robotic, as if he found communicating with her difficult. "Has the Commandant been well? I hope that he isn't planning any unjust retribution after the Lower Quarter proposals were rejected." Julius asked, looking down towards a sheet of paper, pretending to be immersed in reading it.

"Flynn- no, the Commandant, would never stoop so low!" Sodia passionately denied his claims, eliciting muffled giggles from the man's twin lieutenants. "What's so funny?" Sodia asked in a confrontational manner.

"Nothing, I'm just glad that I'm over Flynn now is all," Chastel Aiheep, the bustier of the twin red-heads teased.

"What-"

"I guess the rumours are true after all," Hisca continued with the teasing, grinning brightly at her friend.

"What rumours?"

"Oh you know, Flynn and you are," Hisca continued, grinning as she slipped her index finger back and forth through a circle made with her other hand's thumb

"W-W-What no, that's not true!" Sodia screamed in embarrassment. "He's m-my superior officer, nothing more let alone t-that." Sodia spluttered a reply, forcing everyone present to burst into a bout of laughter.

"Sure Sodia," Chastel continued for the hysteric Hisca who was desperately trying to catch her breath. "Regardless, he's free, I'm taken now," Chastel revealed with a smile that did nothing to erase Sodia's annoyance.

"Congratulations," Sodia huffed, annoyed that her friends managed to derail part of her mission with their ridiculous suggestions. "I still don't get what you're trying to suggest," Sodia mumbled unconvincingly.

"That's enough you three," Captain Julius cut in strictly, silencing them at once.

"Sorry sir," the three spoke in unison, albeit Hisca's was a little strained since she was still amused.

"That's quite alright," Julius responded, coughing once to clear his throat. "So, Lieutenant, why exactly did you come here today?" Julius got the meeting back on schedule, once again never meeting her eyes.

"Well sir I came to deliver a message for the Commandant, he says that he won't be returning to Zaphias until after the incident is cleared up," Sodia relayed the message clearly, earning a nod from the large Captain.

"I see, if that's how thing are then that is fine too," Captain Julius replied with a smile. "We'll keep watch over Zaphias until your return, you have our word," he responded dutifully, like any good knight would.

"Thank you, sir."

"It's quite alright, is there anything else you'd like to say?" Captain Julius asked curiously.

"There is one thing sir," Sodia started, going silent for a moment to collect her thoughts. "Well we are currently performing one other task. We are searching for Yuri Lowell who went missing a few days ago."

"What are you talking about Sodia? That's not true." Hisca stated with a painful grimace.

"No, I'm telling the truth!"

"Maybe she doesn't know," Chastel told her sister, making the flat-chested woman form an 'O' with her lips.

"Don't know what?" Sodia asked sounding genuinely confused.

"Lieutenant Sodia," Captain Julius spoke up in a solemn tone. "There's been an incident in Heliord."

-The Night of the Party-

Nights like these made navigating the seas extremely difficult. The torrential rainfall, accompanied by the storms made for poor visibility. To make matters worse the waves were vicious, thrashing around heavily in such a manner that they could nearly topple any unsuspecting ship.

Only the bravest or stupidest people would ever take on such a challenge, fortunately there were plenty of those. In the middle ground between the dual ports Capua was a lone ship, admirably battling the ferocious waves.

"Captain, why are we even doing this?" A muscular guildsman asked as lightning crashed into the sea, illuminating the night sky briefly before returning it to its endless consuming black.

"Because there is urgent business I need to attend to and I cannot waste time on Desier," the captain, a middle-aged woman responded in a matter-of-fact manner, readjusting her glasses as she stomped across the main deck.

"Well we are close I guess," another man replied, pointing to Capua Torim's lighthouse before slipping on the wet deck.

"Captain," a third man shouted from the crow's nest.

"What is it?" the woman shouted back urgently.

"I see something in the water," the man replied quickly as he stared through his telescope. "I-I think it's a person!" he shouted down urgently, the captain in response pulled out her own telescope and checked, spotting something lifelike floating on the waves.

"Quick, men we must save that person!" the captain shouted urgently, gaining respective nods from the crew who adjusted the ships heading. "Reel him in!" the captain ordered, crossing her arms across her chest as she watched her men retrieve the stranded person.

"Captain we've got her, no- him sorry," one of the crew informed his leader with a touch of concern in his voice.

"What's wrong?" the woman asked instinctively.

"He's unconscious and bleeding like crazy, he could be in serious danger!" the man panicked, in response the captain trudged her way over to inspect the damage, gasping at who they'd managed to pick up.

"My, I never thought I'd see him here," the woman mused. "It's almost interesting how our paths always cross, Mr. Yuri Lowell," the red-haired woman practically smirked as she turned to her worried underling. "Take him inside and get this man some medical attention!"

"Yes Madame President."

* * *

><p>(End Chapter)<p>

Damn so Yuri is alive! I told some people not to worry. This chapter was Sodia centric to show more about the main heroine, for come on she is a very important character and I love her so much.

Funny fact, Steak is an offshoot recipe that belongs to Flynn in the PS3 version, so if you are curious why she asked for it, I guess Flynn made it once and it was the only food he ever made well and well you know... :D

Good news as well, at the end of the last chapter I said I think I got some 1:1's well it's true I indeed got straight top grades, how amazing. Also I am updating this Easter Sunday, like I promised somebody.

Either ways I hope you enjoyed and please **leave a review **because it really does inspire me.

Have a nice day,

-Aquilon


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